Pink Thread of Silk
by Truble
Summary: She knew he could feel the swell of her breasts through the material of his own black silk yukata. “Remember, you are my property,” He hissed in her ear. “I own you,” SasSak
1. Diminished

**Hiya! Wow, this is my first try at a Naruto fic and it is sorta a spur of the moment thing but I think it came out quite well. Very depressing but alright.**

**Eh, please tell me what you think and if I should continue. I have a few ideas at where to lead this story but I'm not sure if it's worth it. You decide, ne?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor any of it's character. I own only the plot.

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**Pink Thread of Silk**

**Chapter 1: Diminished **

She sat, still, in the shadows of her bathroom. The cold tiled floor beneath her legs seemed to give no comfort to her burning skin. She gazed numbly at the dagger in her hand; it was a pretty but deadly ornament. The only thing her mother had ever given her. Sakura almost laughed at how ironic it was, that her own mother would give her something that could cause only pain. Like she knew right from the start what she would become.

The sharp silver blade gleamed dangerously in the moonlight that sifted through the blinds of the four ceiling to floor windows that seemed to make her average sized bathroom look like a glass box. She didn't seem to notice nor care anymore. To her it was all the same, the place she had to call home was not a home, more a prison with innocent people trapped by them, trapped by him.

Her pale hand gripped the knife harder at the thought of the man who held her captive. The emeralds and diamonds embroidered into the sliver handle dug into her delicate skin. She squeezed it harder, trying her best to not remember those cursed scarlet eyes, so scarlet that to her they were the colour of blood. Of all the blood he had caused, all the pain.

"Uchiha," She mumbled into the cool night air.

When Sakura had first laid her emerald orbs on his face she was a mere beginning medic nin working in the heart of Konoha to better herself. She had been training in the woods surrounding the village when he and two other men seemed to appear out of the shadows, out of thin air.

She had only been thirteen years old back then. His blood eyes settled on her form in those woods and she had become overcome with naïve feelings of lust. Even at that tender age there was something that had deeply attracted her to the older nin. Who could have blamed her, he after all was perfection in human form, the only anyone could see, _would_ see for time to come.

A single tear rolled down Sakura's pale cheek as she remembered that day. She had been so innocent back then, so young, so foolish, so naïve. She had shed so many tears since then, so many painful experiences.

He didn't need to say a word to her back then in the forest. He and the two men accompanying him had walked right past her like she wasn't even there. But she, a stupid young girl had followed him. She couldn't believe how naive she was, for all she knew he could have been a murderer, a killer, a rapist, a man with no morals.

And he was…

But she had followed him anyway; she was never more than fifty meters behind him. The thought of her parents, of her so called friends of her life had been ripped out of her mind. All she could see was his scarlet orbs in her head. She followed him until her feet couldn't carry her any further; until her body could no longer keep her up, until her eyes could no longer stay open. Until her mind could no longer see red.

Sakura grazed the sharp edge of the dagger over the soft skin oh her wrist. He would expect that from her, to give up, to end it all in this cowardly motion. To be the weak and naïve girl she had always been.

But she wasn't like that anymore.

She had woken up back then in the room that her bathroom door led to now. The same room she had been trapped in over the past four years. Sakura hadn't seen those scarlet eyes until two months later. She had been enrolled in geisha training in that time and was well into the lessons. She was doing well, she was proud that for once she could excel in something. Be better then the other girls were. She after all was the one to get the praise. Sakura had ignored the looks of distaste on the other girls' faces. She wanted to be the best so she could impress him… she after was in love.

Sakura chuckled deep in her throat, so low it was almost missed by the world around her. _Love?_ Who could ever love some _thing_ like him? She doubted the man knew the meaning of the word let alone ever experienced it.

But she believed she was back then. She had sneaked out of her room one night on a mission to find him, to show him what a woman she was and the woman she had become. To tell him how much she loved him, to expect warmth, desire and an honest reply. Well she did get one…

She found him in the living room, staring darkly into the fireplace, watching as the flames danced and crackled. Listening to the groans of pain from the pieces of wood as they gave way under their assassin. She had hesitated to interrupt him but she found she was once again trapped in the thought of being with him.

But she was about to get a very different response to what she was expecting. She was hoping for a prince, a knight in shining armour that had whisked her away from her life back there, when she felt alone and weak.

The blade in the rose haired woman's hand clattered on the tiles as she let it slip through her fingers. She had no longer the strength to hold it. It wasn't heavy; it was designed for a woman, for a true geisha. But suddenly she seemed to have to hold the weight of her past on her shoulders. She was tired and more alone then ever.

The anger in his eyes that night scared her till this day. He had hit her, countless times, held her by her throat against the brick wall, banging her head into it until she lost consciousness. She hadn't woken up after that incident for a month. She had fallen behind in her geisha training and she no longer was the best. The scars took years to heal. She had never looked in those eyes again.

But Sakura couldn't figure out why he had kept her. Even after her assault he had ordered the women to tend to her, countless medic nin to heal her. He had even paid for private geisha lessons so she could catch up once she recovered. But she hadn't seen him once in all of that time. She was glad…

Over the years she learnt the hard way, the truth behind the Uchiha genius. He had no heart to his name, let alone a soul. No conscience had ever been present in the shell of his body. He seemed perfect on outside, but inside he was more broken than a shattered china doll. With no heart came no meaning to life.

She had heard he killed his entire family. She suspected he done it so he could feel something, anything in the emptiness he called his heart. She also understood it was to gain power; his sharingan was a curse too. A broken man given more power than he could handle was never a good combination. She had heard he only spared his brother, his younger brother. It was a sick attempt to her of breaking another soul, if he couldn't be whole then why should anyone else be?

She suspected that was why she was here too…

After all, that night when she was in the forest training. When she met him. She had never questioned why he was there. Why he and those two men were at her home village. It had been only last year that she found out the answer.

To kill it.

To kill them…

To kill her family, to kill the people she understood now, _had_ been her friends. She had followed willingly the man that had sliced open her mother's throat. Who had stabbed her father with no mercy, with no reason.

She hadn't wanted to believe it a year ago, but she knew it was true. Something like that she couldn't put past him.

Sakura's emerald orbs dropped to the dagger again. It looked so welcoming, something that finally could bring peace to her suffering. Separate her from him.

It was ironic that once she found the truth about him she no longer was smittened with him. She no longer blushed when his eyes looked her over. He had been there over the past two years at every show she performed in, every tea party she led. He was considered her 'Danna' though they shared no kind of relationship apart from him keeping her trapped in him home. She hated him right to the core of her being.

Yet as much as she had grown to hate him. She had also grown into a cold and empty shell. No-one around her cared about her, she had no-one but her own mind to speak to, to tell her secrets to. She was hated by all women outside her prison; she after all was under Uchiha Itachi's care. The only woman the ruthless killer had ever lusted over.

Yes, after four years of torture, Uchiha Itachi seemed to have moulded Sakura into the cold hearted woman she was now. Into the empty shell that no longer had any energy to fight. Her spirit had flown away into a land she doubted she could ever retrieve it again. Especially after it had been driven further from her grasp the night Itachi had come home from a mission and…

…raped her.

She wondered now, what would he do if she didn't wake up in the morning? Probably curse her to hell for wasting his time and money into perfecting her into the woman he wanted her to be. He would probably kidnap another girl, who at first thinks she's in love with the brooding genius, then like her discovers her grave mistake. Or maybe she was the only stupid one that would fall so easily for an offer too good to be true.

Sakura's head travelled to the glass ceiling above her. The back of her head leaning on the edge of the bathtub she was propped up against.

He liked watching her. He had done it every time she was around him, like his eyes were glued to her and her only. If he wasn't the monster that she had grown up to know he was, she would have thought all the attention was romantic. But with Itachi it was anything but.

She could feel his gaze on her now. Her head twist to her right; out of the glass wall she could see him. She could see his silhouette facing her from his own ceiling to floor window in his own private bathroom, but his only had two windows at either side. One to watch who came near him home. The other to watch her. His hands were pressed up against the glass as all she saw apart from his dark form in the low lighting of the clouded stars, were his scarlet eyes.

She needed a way out. Her orbs immediately fell on the blade. But she no longer had enough will in her spirit to die.

"Another night," She whispered to him. Almost expecting him to hear though she doubted he did. She stood up, giving him one last cold hard look, before walking into her bedroom and preparing to start another long day.

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Sakura gazed lazily at the food that was laid before her. There were many women walking around her, making sure everything she wanted and needed was given to her without the need for her to utter a word. She wondered sometimes if they thought they were psychic, after all, they appeared to think they knew what she wanted before she knew it herself.

She glared at one of the younger maids who was making slow progress of setting her rice bowl in front of her. She didn't have the heart any more to be kind, to be patient. She after all was the geisha under the Uchiha protection, under his training and his lust.

_Thinking of the devil_ she thought but her thoughts had no amusement in them at all. Her cold emerald orbs watched as the Uchiha genius walked through the door and strode into the room to stand opposite her kneeling form.

"Sire," Sakura bowed her head, though she couldn't feel less respect for any other human being.

He was silent for a while, watching her as she returned to the posture she held before his entrance. She picked up her chopstick quickly and elegantly like the true geisha she had become. She began eating her food, almost like she had forgotten he was there.

"Why were you up so late last night?" He asked curious. She seemed to have been doing that a lot these past few weeks. Leaning against the bath tub with that dagger she kept strapped to her thigh at all times.

It was Sakura's turn to be silent. She was taking her time in thinking of an answer that would end all questions.

"That is none of you concern Sire," She replied in a fake pleasant voice. "I'm sure your mind should show concern for someone more deserving than I."

He smirked.

Itachi walked around the table she was kneeling by and grabbed her arm, dragging her up to her full height, though her eyes never lifted to meet his. The maids took this as a sign to leave and suddenly the room was quieter than Sakura was comfortable with.

He slammed her into the wall, but Sakura wasn't scared any more. What happened to her body was no longer any of her concern, her soul, her heart and her dignity had left years ago. His lips were making quick way down her neck and began to lick and nip at her collar.

"I have a mission for you," He muttered between kisses.

Sakura's mind had drifted back from the daydream of her dagger and her death, to the man whose hands were currently making quick work of her obi and yukata. He had her pressed against the wall hard but she was intrigued.

"A mission?" She asked as the man's lips slowly rose to leave the last kiss at the corner of her lips.

"I want you to seduce my brother," He said as he stared hard into her eyes. No emotion was shown as he finished his sentence, she only looked slightly curious as to why he presumed. "I want you to lead him to me, I hear he's given up on killing me, that he wants to start a family and I can't have that."

There was an evil gleam in the mans eyes that Sakura knew all too well. He wouldn't allow his little brother to lead a fuller life than he ever could. He was always selfish.

"I don't want him to touch you though, flirt all you like, that is why I'm sending you," He continued with a smirk. "But if I find out he's touched _my _woman," Itachi put a severe emphasis on the 'my' part. Sakura had to try her hardest not to roll her eyes at that part. "There will be hell to pay, and not just by him,"

The dark look he sent her seemed to bring back the memories of his eyes when he had gotten angry with her for the first time. She whimpered slightly under his gaze, his hands untying the obi finally and discarding it, then slipping his palms under the two layer casual yet still expensive yukata to reveal her naked form. His hands wrapped around her waist as he pulled her closer to him leaving no room between their bodies. She knew he could feel the swell of her breasts through the material of his own black silk yukata.

"Remember, you are my property," He hissed in her ear. "I own you,"

With that he pushed himself away. By the time Sakura had managed to get a grasp on her bearings he had already left through the door. The maids ran in only to gasp at the sight before them. Sakura had fallen to her knees, not bothering to tie the yukata up so her naked from was revealed to the other women.

The only thing Sakura could think was. She had shown weakness to him again. She still wasn't numb enough to go against his assault. She had to die more inside to finally be able to stand his mental torture. To block out those scarlet eyes.

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Meh, I'm not sure so tell me what you think. Worth writing another chapter?

You decide!

Ja ne

Truble


	2. And So We're Free

**Pink Thread of Silk**

**Chapter 2: And So We're Free**

She looked, yet she didn't see. She spoke, yet she didn't hear her voice. She touched, yet she did not feel. She drank, yet she did not taste the sake the Uchiha genius had poured her.

Sakura's emerald orbs gazed emptily at the table before her. She sat beside the named nin, his full attention was not on her though, but on the silver haired nin in front of her. The man she had seen once before at a dinner she had performed in, in the Uchiha's honour when he had killed the hokage of a village unknown to her. He was a stoic man, calm; his posture almost grazed the lines of lazy.

"What do I get as a reward Uchiha-san?" The man asked slowly, his dark right eye was watching Itachi, his left covered by a piece of black cloth that seemed to hold his hair in shape as well. Sakura could have thought he was quite handsome, if she had enough emotions inside her to know it.

Itachi seemed to chuckle, though it was cold and forced. "I never took you for a straight to the point type of man, Kakashi." He then picked up his sake cup and took a slow, polite sip. Sakura always wondered how a monster like him could in any way be mannered, have any knowledge of cultural behaviour. "What would you like?"

Sakura picked up the decorative porcelain pot of sake once more and poured the clear liquid into the matching sake cup Itachi had just put down empty. "And you Sire?" She asked in a delicate voice as she forced a small smile on her face, her emerald eyes meeting the one dark eye of the silver haired man.

He nodded and watched as the young woman; perfect geisha posture took the pot once more and without a shake of the hand or any uncertainty poured another drink. Kakashi could tell she was a master at her work and that very few around her could match up to her high-standards. '_Or probably they were his' _Kakashi thought as his eye turned back to the dark nin who seemed to have taken an interest in watching the young woman as well.

"I want her," Kakashi replied, it was only a tester as to what he could actually receive from the higher ranking nin, he knew he saw the rose haired woman as his property and valued her highly.

Sakura hearing this said and done nothing. This wasn't the first time a ninja had wanted her as a prize, each time they started of with a tester bet. She never understood why they chose her to be it, or better yet, why Itachi never agreed.

"I'm afraid that prize is out of anyone's reach apart from my own," Itachi replied with a small smirk gracing his lips, he had picked up the freshly poured sake and breathed in the light and delicate aroma before swirling it and taking a sip. "I could offer you half of the gold we will attain from the cloud village at the end of the week, which should be when you will be back."

Kakashi thought about this. It wasn't a bad deal, the amount of gold and valuable items that the Akatsuki nin's loot from villages they overturn is of great quantity. His dark eye once more turned to the pale pink haired woman who was now kneeling silently, not moving as she stared at the sake pot. Though it looked more like she was looking through it.

Kakashi sighed. "I guess that will do," He replied and picked up his own cup of sake and shot it down with one gulp before placing it back on the table. "Though she would have been one mighty prize."

Itachi's smirk only grew wider. "I would offer you any part of my brother's body but I have already promised it to another,"

Kakashi shrugged and nodded.

Sakura as soon as she sensed the men were about to finish their meeting stood along side her jailer and gracefully, allowing the decorative kimono to align around her form, she followed the men to the door.

"Be here in two days time at dawn," Itachi said but it was more like a command to anyone's ears.

Kakashi nodded his head once more before giving Itachi and Sakura a respectful bow of the head which only Sakura returned. She watched him leave with empty forest eyes. She was leaving this place, just for a while, but she was leaving for the first time…

She lay there, staring at the white ceiling above her, pristine white. It was as white as the snow she played with as a little girl. The snow that her friends used to build a snowman with, she had used her own scarf and hat to make that snowman. She was so proud when she was done, yet now… she was anything but proud.

A bead of sweat rolled down his face only to drip down onto her collar from his chin as he thrust deeper inside her. His lips were kissing and nipping at her neck as she let out a soft gasp when his knee forced her legs to open wider. His hips were ramming into her hard and deep as he panted over her.

She had been just eleven years old when her mother had warned her about men. She was about to be put in a ninja team, she was about to become someone she believed was worth something in the world. She wouldn't have ever imagined her mother's words would ever come true…

'_You've always been too naïve Sakura' 'Men will do what they wish with you and you wouldn't even put up a fight'._

His scarlet orbs were burning into her forest green ones. She was lost in that forest, her true being was lost in there somewhere. It was there, alone and crying for help.

She hadn't understood those words back then but she sure knew what they meant now, she knew what they meant straight away that day he had beaten her to an unconscious heap.

He groaned as he surged into her harder still. She was doing everything in her might not to scream from the pleasure her body had betrayed her to, or to cry from the emptiness she felt because of it. She stared at the ceiling instead, remembering those innocent days she wanted to be in now instead of here.

"Say my name," He growled huskily as he began panting by her ear, his every thrust making her whole body shake with anticipation. Sweat beads were running down her own body. Her hands were clawing into his back as her eyes shut trying her best not to give in to what her body wanted.

When he heard no answer Itachi growled impatiently thrusting into her now rough. She cried out in pain as her nails dug into his back drawing blood and her legs curled around his waist begging him to stop the pain.

"Say my name," He barked as his black bangs began to stick to her sweat covered forehead. He was staring straight into her orbs, the commas of his sharingan were swerving and he, with the more entrance space she gave him thrust deeper, her orbs shutting tight.

"ITACHI!" She cried out not able to bare it any longer. She could feel his smirk against her ear as his left arm rose from fondling her sensitive nipple to rest by the side of her head as he placed his body weight on it.

He crushed his lips to hers, parting them roughly with his tongue and slipping it inside as he continued the rocking motion he had set. He loved the taste of her, she always smelled so good, she always knew how to make him crazy. No other woman ever made him this _wild_.

An explosion erupted inside Sakura's body as it stiffened for a mere few seconds, her breath caught in her throat as Itachi gave one final thrust before groaning out himself. She cried out his name again and again. She couldn't help it; the words escaped her lips like life survival instincts.

He collapsed on top of her, both panting. Tears were welling up in her eyes but she refused to let them fall, she would be damned before she would let one more tear fall because of him. Maybe her body had betrayed her, but whatever was left of the inside of the core of her heart he could not have, she wouldn't give it to him if she could help it.

Itachi smirked as he slowly regained his strength to hold himself up again on his hands placed on either side of her head. He gazed lazily into her orbs as he watched another part of her already broken soul drift away.

"You're amazing Sakura,' He muttered. She couldn't help but let her eyes drift to his lips. She couldn't understand how someone so beautiful could be so evil, be such a demon at heart, at soul, if he even had one. "That's why I keep you all to myself," He continued as her eyes instantly shifted back to his. "You're mine and anyone who dares to touch what's mine, will die a very painful death," He said, lightly kissing her lips. "I'll make sure of that."

Sakura couldn't believe how calmly he could say something like that. The same tone could be used to state that a dog was chasing a bone, or that a child was playing with a balloon. This scared Sakura the most, she had never doubted that he could kill without a second thought, but why was he so intent on keeping her to himself? To kill for her?

He rolled off of her satisfied. Sakura watched him close his eyes at her side. This was always her que to leave him, it always meant that he had what he wanted and he didn't care what she done now. She was about to slip out of his bed when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him again.

"You're not going anywhere tonight," He said, he eyes still closed as he pulled her to his side, forcing her hand onto his chest as he relaxed against her.

Sakura was shocked to say the least, never had he wanted her to stay the night before. He would usually give her a disgusted look before practically kicking her out of the bed. Then it clicked in her mind, the puzzle was complete. He was proving a point, he was proving that she was his property and that he could do what he liked with her when he liked.

She glared at him though he gave no sign of life apart from the even breathing. Sakura thought about how easy it would be to grab the water glass on the nightstand only a few inches away from her and smash it on his head, slice his throat open with a sharp shard.

She sighed. Like that would work, he was a genius, he could probably sense what was going through her head right now, he would force her down before she could get within two inches of that glass. And even if she did manage to get it and knock him out, even kill him, she had no way of getting out of this mansion alive.

_I'd die happily knowing he was dead too._ But even as she thought that she knew it was a lie. However much her spirit had been beaten out of her repeatedly, however much her soul had been broken and was being shattered even more. She still wanted to live; she still had hope in the small part of her heart where a little light glowed, that she could still lead a happy life. That she would escape, fall in love and never see those crimson eyes again.

She just had to wait…

"Ai Sakura-sama! You're so lucky!" One of the younger servants cooed as she brushed her cherry coloured hair with a silver, aquamarine stone encrusted brush. "Spending the whole night with Itachi-sama!" She seemed to go off in a daze at that point. Sakura watched her in the mirror with a deeply sad look.

She had thought like that too once, now she would do anything to get away from here as fast as possible.

The girl, Mako, was new in the Uchiha household and was being reprimanded more than any other new maid. She behaved rather roguishly compared to how any other maid behaved, but she still had yet to meet the master himself. Sakura could already see the bruises on her face as she watched her in the mirror.

Mako looked back at Sakura's reflection and grinned. "And now you are going away, I hear that Kakashi-san is another fine example of a man," She continued completely oblivious to the dark yet quite true thoughts running through the emerald orbed woman's mind.

"Sakura-sama?" Sakura gave a light grunt to show she was listening. Her eyes were focusing on the dressing table before her so she wouldn't have to imagine the blood running from Mako's lips. "Do you think I could ever…" She paused as a light tinge coloured her cheeks. "…well… if Itachi-sama could ever see me… as he sees you?"

Sakura ground her teeth at how stupid this girl was being. "Mako-chan, don't ever even try going near that bastard! If you value your life, the way it is now, don't ever go near him." She watched as the young girls eyes widened sharply before her lips sealed tight and she began brushing Sakura's hair once more.

Sakura sighed. "Mako-chan, promise me you will never allow your life to be like mine," She continued twisting in her seat to stare up at the brunette that seemed to be thinking her words over. "Don't ever become a slave to any man, don't ever let him imprison you in his home, don't ever let him make you feel like your dead inside and make you watch your body betray you," There were tears in the young girls eyes as she fell to her knees in front of Sakura.

There was a knock at the door, but the person didn't wait for a reply before barging in. Sakura's eyes widened, they settled on the Uchiha genius as he approached where she was sitting. The young maid stood up sharply and wiped away her tears before standing to the side in silence.

"You're not ready yet?" He asked, impatience deeply encrusted in his words.

"I'm sorry Itachi-sama," Sakura bowed her head as he merely watched her. She pulled her hair up expertly into a tight, high chignon held by two silver decorative pins, one with cherry blossoms coming of the end, the other a simple silver bell. She added a silver ruby encrusted comb to keep her hair in place.

She stood up with only the first layer of her kimono as she stood in front of Itachi who frowned before allowing her to pass. She picked up the next layer and wound it around her form before putting on the final scarlet red kimono layer. Pretty flowers and humming birds decorated it. Itachi picked up the obi and tied it around her waist like a master. He had done it many time before for her as it was hard to get it looking perfect on her own.

Sakura slipped on her wooden sandals before taking the arm Itachi offered her and letting him guide her out of her room. She was leaving today; she was going to be away from this hell hole for at least a week if not two. She would be away from him, from his eyes, from his rough touch. She wouldn't have to; over that small period of time die even more inside than she was now. She could already feel the fresh air on her face; she could already see the green on either side of the rocky road that led to the re-built Konoha village.

Sakura was ecstatic, though she never showed it, when she heard her village had been re-built. That it had a new and much stronger hokage, that there were people living there once more, that it was once again the heart of the leaf country.

And she was going back…

She had a brief discussion with Itachi the day before about what she had to do, before he had forced her to his bed once more. He had told her that when she met his brother, Sasuke Uchiha, she was to be the eye candy that he was going to follow to his death, which was fine by her. It meant she wouldn't have to touch another pride driven, egotistical, blood hungry, slave driving son of a bitch. And she was glad.

She suspected that Sasuke would be similar to Itachi even though they seemed to not be on the best terms with each other. Not really surprising since Itachi had murdered their whole family.

Sakura just had to use her womanly charms, a talent she knew how to use all to well, to make him beg like the dog that he was to her.

Itachi had also told her that she wouldn't be alone. Apart from Hatake Kakashi who would be protecting her, she would also be accompanied by two more geishas from the two surrounding villages. She didn't know their names, she didn't really care either. They were the ones that were going to make prostitutes of themselves for Itachi's sake and for their lives.

It was better that Sakura didn't know who they were, so she wouldn't get to know them and hate herself more then she already did because she had the 'get out of jail' card and they didn't.

Sakura's eyes rose to meet the dark eye of the silver haired ninja who bowed his head as a sign of respect. Sakura returned the gesture and gave him a small forced smile.

"Anything happens to her, I will hunt you down," Itachi said as if he was commenting on the weather.

Kakashi merely nodded before gesturing for Sakura to follow him. Sakura gave a low bow to Itachi before following Kakashi out of the door into the rising sun.

"I'll be waiting for you," She heard Itachi's voice behind her, like the devil allowing a caged bird out of hell for a little while. She allowed Kakashi to help her into the carriage that would take her to the next village to pick up the next geisha.

She held her breath as she watched the front door of the Uchiha mansion intently. The carriage was moving, she could see the mansion getting further away, she was being set free, if only for a little while. He didn't come out; he didn't try to stop her.

She was _free_…


	3. Don't Want But Need

**Pink Tread of Silk**

**Chapter 3: Don't Want But Need**

"You understand what you have to do correct?" The cold voice of Itachi commented as he walked further into his mansion. In the shadows a sickly smirk appeared on the face of a monster.

"Yes Itachi-sama," The man replied as he slinked into the shadow of the powerful Uchiha nin. He was buzzing inside. He prize was waiting for him at the end of the tunnel and he was going to do anything and everything in his power to get it.

"I don't care what happens to Kakashi, but if anything happens to _her_ I will hold you responsible," Itachi turned his full attention to the man behind him as he smirked back.

"You can count on me, no harm will come to the woman, I can't promise anything for anyone else." But Itachi wasn't stupid. He knew at the first chance Orochimaru got at killing his cherry blossom, he would take it without a second thought for the consequences. That was why Kakashi was there, and that was why he had taught her the art of self defence over the many years she had called his mansion her home.

Itachi also knew Kakashi was against him, but he understood he wouldn't let anything happen to the young woman whilst she was with him. Orochimaru would watch the nin, whilst Kakashi would protect Sakura and kill Orochimaru if he got the chance. He was going to get rid of one annoyance that was sure.

"Your brother's body will be mine as we agreed?" The monster continued with his sickly sweet voice that just seemed to ooze out of him like the terrible smell.

"Once I kill him, I don't care what happens to his body," Itachi replied, his cold voice echoing lightly through the deserted marble corridors of his home. "But don't let them out of your sight." Whoever dies first was none of Itachi's concern. Sakura will be safe either way.

Orochimaru chuckled as he turned away from the Uchiha genius and left through the front door on his way to tail the carriage holding the rose haired woman.

Sakura sighed for the fourth time in a row at the lush greenery surrounding her. Kakashi had stopped for as he said it; 'Nature's call'. Sakura really didn't want to think about what that implied. She had stepped out of the carriage and made her way onto the field of wild growing flowers and tall grasses. She hadn't seen something like this in years, and she loved the way the sun sprayed on her skin, giving it a light golden tint.

"You like flowers huh?" Sakura's head turned to look at her intruder and only half smiled when she realised Kakashi was back from his 'call'.

"Maybe," She replied. She wasn't in the mood to talk and especially not to a man, whatever man it may be. She just wanted to get further away from the hell hole she had been stuck in for what seemed like a life time.

Standing up with a few wild flowers in her hand, Sakura walked back to the carriage and allowed Kakashi to help her in once more. She was glad that the nin didn't ask too many questions. He seemed to like his own space, but what he seemed to like more was the orange covered book that Sakura hadn't quite managed to catch the title of yet. But the older nin seemed to be entranced by it and paid more attention to it than the bumpy road they were driving on.

Sakura, with a lack of anything better to do, began to think about what lay before her. In her own mind it seemed to her that she was going from one monster to another. They were related after all, only so many differences can break down the similarities.

And what about Kakashi? Sakura wasn't naïve anymore, she saw clearly how the older nin seemed to dislike Itachi over the expected standard of any of the other nin visiting the mansion. He reminded her of the type of nin who had come to kill Itachi in the past. Sand nin's, Konoha nin's, Star nin's and a whole range of others. The silver haired nin was one in the many.

A head popped out in front of her as the man in question smiled and lifted two fingers. "Yo."

Sakura would have jumped back if her reflexes weren't so sharp from the constant use at her prison. Kakashi was staring at her but he was upside down. Popping his head into the carriage whilst the rest of him was perched on the roof.

Sakura was about to give him a small smile when she remember who they were and exactly why they were here. She merely returned the older nin's gaze and stared at him expectantly.

"We're going to set up camp here; it's dangerous to be travelling around here during the night. Is that alright with you?" He asked jumping off of the roof to land graciously on the ground. The carriage had stopped whilst he was talking.

Sakura nodded grabbing the wild flowers she had picked earlier and stepped out of the cart. Kakashi had disappeared through the shrubbery of the forest that lined both sides of the small rocky dirt path they were on, with only enough space for the carriage to ride through.

The rose haired woman hadn't even noticed the sun was going down. They had spent hours on the road. She suspected it was taking longer than usual to get to the next village as she was in her full geisha gear and in a carriage that stood out for miles around. But she had to keep in character, and even if it did take longer than it should, it would mean she was away for longer. Which was fine by her.

She walked into the shrubbery, following the sound of wood hitting wood which meant Kakashi was busy setting up camp. It almost surprised her that he bothered, that he didn't make her do it instead. He wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight as he would have to watch over her, so camp was pretty useless to him.

Sakura guessed he was just kind hearted and didn't want to see her struggle with a tent she hadn't practiced to put up in over five years.

Pushing away the leaves and stiff branches of the bushes that blocked her way, she finally managed to enter a clearing. It was beside a stream, a clear little spot. She immediately found Kakashi, surprisingly, he was busy.

He looked up at her and stared dumb founded.

"That was fast," He said sounding truly surprised.

Sakura offered him a confused look as she locked herself in place. Maybe she was supposed to have waited at the cart?

Kakashi picked up the nin shirt he had thrown carelessly on a rock near him when he began ripping whole tree branches off the trees around them, and put it on.

"I was giving you another ten minutes or so and a few 'ow's' and 'helps', especially in all that," Kakashi had muttered as he walked up to her and inspected the woman for any bodily harm. He truly was surprised; she had walked through all those sharp ending thorn bushes without a hair out of place. "I was going to get you after I finished."

Sakura didn't know if she should have taken the first comment as a compliment to her ability, or take offence at his stereotypical thoughts. She had been through too much shit to care about a few thorny bushes. But she no longer had the will to live and all she wanted to do was take all of her stupid geisha gear off.

It was true that Sakura had loved training to be a geisha when she had been younger. But the Uchiha genius had knocked the sense into her, literally, and now she hated the thought of it. It was a way to bring a woman down to servant level; at least it was for Itachi.

She lifted her hand to her hair and pulled out the pins that had held her hair in place as well as the comb she hated more than life itself. Another expensive present from Itachi, which she couldn't stand. Kakashi receiving no answer from the woman went back to setting up her sleeping arrangements. He honestly couldn't understand how a woman could stand to be dressed up like that all day, but it wasn't his problem, as long as he didn't have to run around in those layers of material he was fine with what came his way.

Sakura sat down on the bank of the river that was running steadily down the small hill they were currently occupying part of. Sakura turned her head to her only companion and sighed, he was sitting on one of the branches in the trees where he could keep a close look out, reading the book she had seen his eyes almost never leave during their travels. She suspected it was either a ninja handbook with new techniques you could learn (though she doubted that since a) Kakashi didn't look the sort of person to read that crap and b) he wasn't making any movements apart from his eyes moving from word to word), her second and more plausible thought was that it was some kind of porn.

Dipping her feet into the stream she sighed, the pain of the sandals that had been digging into every possible piece of flesh on her foot, finally subsided from the coldness of the water. Sakura looked back up at the older nin and gave him a questionable look.

"What are you reading?" She asked, she really didn't want to know the answer if her assumptions were correct, but she hated the silence that his hobby forced on them both. She didn't feel like talking, but she hated the silence more than she hated to open her mouth a socialise.

Silence.

Sakura sighed again and adjusted her legs in the first layer of her kimono, the other two lay on the rock close by.

"Why are you working for Itachi-sama?" Sakura tried again, but again to no avail. He was too far gone into whatever fantasies that book caused him to dwell into and mere little questions that could provide Sakura with interesting answers and things to think about weren't going to snap him out of his little world.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the silver haired nin and finally decided on one last tactic.

"Throw me a kunai," she said innocently. Kakashi's eyes were immediately on her and narrow with suspicion.

"Little girls shouldn't play with big boy toys," He replied in a nonchalant voice. Sakura scowled at the statement. Was he implying she didn't know how to use a sharp object? She would have used her own dagger if it wasn't for the need to keep it a secret. It was wrapped around her upper thigh where she could access it in times of need and where no man would ever think to look on a geisha.

"I'm not a little girl and I've lived with Itachi for most of my life, do you think I haven't been taught how to defend myself?" Sakura replied folding her arms over her chest as she glared lightly at the silver haired nin.

"I'm here to defend you so you don't need to worry." He answered his eyes already focused back on that book of his.

"I don't need it to protect myself, I need it to cut some of this fabric off so I can move in it freely," She replied rolling her eyes as she watched the nin think it over. After a few minutes his hand unbuckled the pouch at his hip and took out a single kunai which he threw in her direction. It landed mere centimetres away from the hand she was leaning on to keep herself upright, but if she was surprised by his actions, she didn't show it.

Taking the kunai into her hand she began to tear at the thin pale pink material that held her legs so tightly together. She cut it off at her knees and sliced a slit just high enough to let her legs move freely. She could feel Kakashi's gaze on her as she continued to shorten the kimono and cut free her limbs. Next she cut off the sleeves to give her arms enough space to work with. Once she was done she admitted to herself that it wasn't the most fashionable look, but it was the most practical. Her rose coloured hair fell to her waist before she took a bit of the fabric she had just cut loose and tied it up in a neat ponytail. She smiled in satisfaction and gazed at her reflection in the water she was sitting by.

"Thanks," Sakura said as she stood and walked closer to the tree Kakashi was occupying. She grabbed the kunai and threw it back at the silver haired nin who was once again deeply engrossed with his book. He caught the kunai between his fingers and placed it back in his pouch without ever looking up. Sakura sighed.

"I'm not sure if that look is what Sasuke-kun is looking for," Kakashi commented as Sakura was about to turn and walk into the tent Kakashi had set up for her.

"This is only the first layer of my kimono, the other two are fine and I have plenty more of these where this one came from," Sakura replied grabbing the piece of rose material to signify her point. With that she grabbed the two outer layers of her kimono from the rock and walked into the tent. She lay on her blankets for what seemed like hours before she finally drifted into a light sleep, afraid the nightmares of what her life was and will be like once more once she returned to the Uchiha genius. But she was happy in the knowledge that for now she was safe…

"Sakura," A male voice hissed, Sakura groaned in her sleep. Her arm was shaken a few times before the male voice repeated himself. "Sakura, wake up,"

Sakura's emerald orbs flipped open as they met the inky black eye of her companion; she gave him a puzzled look when his finger covered her lips to stop her from speaking. Quickly Kakashi stood once more and gazed slowly out of the tent. Sakura gasped when moments later a kunai flew directly into the tent, missing Kakashi's head by mere millimetres and slicing into the ground between Sakura's parted crouching legs. A bit more in either direction and either Kakashi would currently be a corpse or Sakura would have a kunai stuck in her left leg.

Kakashi lifted his finger to his lips stopping any words that the rose haired woman was once again dying to say. Kakashi looked back out of the material of the tent and looked around in the direction he knew their intruder was attacking from. The attack had subsided for the moment, but Kakashi knew it wouldn't be too long. He grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her out of the tent jumping into the foliage of the trees around them as the emerald eyed woman struggled to find her balance on the tree branch. Just as she had managed what she hadn't trained in years, Kakashi was on the move once more, pulling her along as he jumped from branch to branch.

She followed him the best she could, trying to find the rhythm she had lost over the years of being unused. Sakura was surprising herself at how easy it was all coming back to her; if it wasn't for the mystery hunter behind them she would have actually admitted to herself that she was enjoying it. But these times as always stopped any happiness to enter the once warm heart of the young woman.

Sakura gasped as Kakashi pulled her behind a particularly chunky tree pressing her against it and pressing himself against her. It took all of her will to not punch or knee Kakashi in all men's sensitive spot, but she had decided upon the lesser of two evils. However uncomfortable this made her, it was nothing to how uncomfortable it would be to either die or get sliced and diced within inches of death.

"MOVE!" Kakashi yelled as another kunai narrowly missed his head and hit the tree a few inches above the Sakura's. He pushed her onto the next branch before pulling her arm again and dropping down to the forest floor dodging another array of steel metal.

Sakura hissed as the sharp edge of one of the kunais sliced through her upper calf and she fell to the ground grazing her knees on the dirt, leaves and twigs that she fell on. Kakashi turned alarmed as he kept his senses switched on for any movement around them.

"Get on my back," He said as he kneeled down in front of her.

"No, I can run," Sakura said determined, she tried to stand but hissed again from pain, her efforts only causing more blood loss.

"Get on my back Sakura!" Kakashi hissed again, it wasn't a question, it was an order.

Without another word she wrapped her arms around his neck as he hitched her legs to straddle his waist as he pushed on. He jumped up into the foliage of the trees once more, the slight weight on his back not slowing him down. Pulling a kunai out of his pouch he slung it in the direction the enemy chakra flow was coming from, hoping it would slow down the intruder and give him enough time to get the rose haired woman and himself out of harms way.

Dodging a few branches he slipped into another small stream. Kakashi was sure they were now far away from the coach and all of Sakura's belongings, but he was also sure she couldn't have given less of a damn about them. Then suddenly, as if what had just happened was a figment of their imagination, the enemy chakra was gone, gone without a trace, but Kakashi knew better then to stop. It could be a trap to give them a false sense of security, and the silver haired nin was in no position to take chances. He needed the rose haired woman as much alive as the Uchiha genius wanted her to be.

"Are they gone?" Sakura dared a whisper but Kakashi did not answer. His only thoughts were who exactly was on their tail, and why they had chosen to attack them once they left all their valuables behind. This person wasn't a thief, this monster was a hunter.


	4. Family Resemblance

**Pink Thread of Silk**

**Chapter 4: Family Resemblance**

Kakashi pushed Sakura under the droopy blanket of the Willow beside a raging river. The noise of the water hitting its banks was noise enough to conceal them, which was all Kakashi could do at that very moment. Sakura could no longer walk, even though the slash wasn't deep, it was right at the joint of two muscles which made it more painful to move.

Dipping a piece of cloth Sakura had just ripped from her already shortened kimono in a rock pool a little away from the river, the silver haired nin walked back under the curtains of the willow and crouched down in front of the rose haired woman.

"Can you do this yourself or do you want me to do it?" Kakashi asked.

"I can do it," Sakura replied, for one she could bandage wounds since she was little, she always thought she had a talent in it, and then even at the Uchiha mansion, Itachi only ever allowed her to clean his wounds, never any doctor that came. The second reason was because they had no clue who had come after them and if they were still around. If this hunter was chasing them then he knew damn well that they were hiding in the foliage of this willow tree and Kakashi needed to be on alert and not being distracted by her. Sakura only wished she would live for at least another day and not die in a place like this.

Sakura took the damp piece of material and dabbed at the already drying blood on the top of her calf. She winced slightly at the pain but bit her lip and continued with no further showing of emotions.

Kakashi stood giving the rose haired woman a once over before slowly pulling back the sheet of willow branches and peering out. He could sense that person again, he knew that this hunter was watching them but he wasn't sure where he was, why he was doing it and when he would attack next.

He turned back to Sakura who seemed to be done and needed him to wet the cloth again.

"I haven't got any antiseptics for you to put on it, but the town is close now, only an hour or so away, you can get it cleaned there," Kakashi said taking the blood stained piece of cloth and stealthily going back to the small rock pool, all he senses working double time to figure out when the next attack would be.

Sakura nodded slowly as Kakashi handed her back the damp cloth which she wrapped around her wound. She looked back up at the silver haired nin and waited for him to make a decision. He looked puzzled and Sakura was almost starting to loose hope of surviving this. Was this why Itachi had sent her away, he couldn't be bothered to kill her himself so he sent her off to get killed in the middle of nowhere?

Sakura smiled. Well it is better than to die in that prison of his.

Sakura's emerald orbs flicked to her companion as he seemed to snap out of his thoughts with a decision made. He lifted his thumb to his lips and bit down on it before performing a few hand seals then pressing his thumb against the ground.

Sakura almost gasped when a very large and very shabby looking dog appeared. She had never seen this breed before, but whatever it was, it was massive, it reached three quarters up Kakashi's body in a sitting position.

"Kakashi," The dog nodded his head which Kakashi returned. "How may I help you today?"

Kakashi almost smiled at the shocked expression of the rose haired woman when she heard Mugen talk. He guessed being locked away in the Uchiha mansion with only her pretty kimono's and hair pins had really caused a turn in her ninja experience. His eyes turned back to the massive mahogany coloured St Bernard that he knew as Mugen.

"Let her ride on your back to the next city, she can't walk and I need to have my hands free in case of an attack." Kakashi said as he watched Mugen eye up the forest eyed woman.

"Your call," The dog said in his deep gruff voice as he turned his back on Sakura and waited.

Sakura's eyes looked confused as she looked from Kakashi to the dog then back.

"Sakura, you can't walk let alone run and I can't carry you, so get on Mugen's back and hold on tight." Sakura didn't bother to argue, if this was going to get her out of here alive then she was up for practically anything, even riding on the back of a talking dog.

She crawled over to the large dog keeping as much weight of her injured leg as she could. She grabbed onto the strong and grand build of the canine. Mugen stood up on all fours to let her find a comfortable position or as comfortable as she could before grabbing onto his large spiked collar.

"Come on," Kakashi muttered as he looked back at his two companions from peering out of the curtain of willow. He couldn't sense the hunter anymore, just like before he seemed to have disappeared of the face of the earth. But Kakashi wasn't fooled.

Flinging back the sheet of willow branches Kakashi ran out, Mugen on his tail with a slightly shocked Sakura on his back. Kakashi jumped into the camouflage of the tree branches in the direction of the next town, Mugen running stealthily on the ground below him, and Kakashi just like Sakura, couldn't wait to get to Konoha.

After fifteen minutes of Mugen's constant running and her dodging stray branches Sakura's emerald orbs began to close slowly, the little sleep she managed to get the night before catching up to her and the sudden awakening in the early hours of the morning, then the work out she received as well as injury had worn her out. As Sakura's orbs closed and her face fell into the thick fur of the beast she was riding she could admit to herself that out of all the people she knew, she was glad she was in this scenario with Kakashi.

Sakura groaned, her hand flying to her forehead to run down her face as the light from the sun somewhere in the room hurt her eyes. Getting slowly use to it she managed to peer from under her eyelashes at the fact that she was in a room, on a bed with a pillow under her head.

"Konichiwa!!" A girl's voice broke through her thoughts as her eyes widened at the face that popped into her line of vision, directly above her face. "So _you're _the third geisha for the mission huh? Haven't got much gear now have you?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked, her brain still trying to process her surrounding and not quite catching onto whatever the blonde haired woman was saying.

"Ino, leave her alone, she's Uchiha-samas private possession," She heard a familiar voice and instantly sat up; regretting it later when the top of her calf stung and she winced in pain. Sakura wasn't too sure which Uchiha Kakashi was talking about either.

The blonde woman, Ino, turned from Kakashi at the door, back to the rose haired woman she was sitting beside as her eyes narrowed looking her over.

"What are we going to do about that cut of yours?" She asked thoughtfully. "We can sort out kimonos and all that, Itachi-sama can pay for any expenses, but a geisha must be flawless and well you can't walk."

Sakura's orbs fell on the sheet she was covered by to where her calf lay. She narrowed her eyes bit her lip and slipped out of the bed. Slowly she stood on both legs, ignoring the pain shooting up her leg.

"This is nothing," Sakura said with a small smile at the blonde woman who watched her wearily, but smiled back.

"Well then we haven't got any time to waste, Temari-chan is already getting ready and we still have to fitt you into one of my kimonos," Ino sighed giving the bubblegum princess a once over. "So much work, so little time," Her attention turned back to Kakashi leaning against the door frame reading his perverted book in silence. "Kakashi, make yourself at home downstairs and leave us to our girlie things."

Kakashi looked up from his book and looked from Ino to Sakura then nodded, turned on his heel and walked down the stairs into what Sakura presumed was the rest of the house.

"Isn't he a cutie?" Ino asked as Sakura's eyes turned from where Kakashi had last stood to the bright blue eyed woman.

"What?" She asked amazed as her brain digested what the woman in front of her had just said. She understood Kakashi was good-looking, but she wasn't about to share that with a complete stranger, no matter how friendly she was.

Ino sighed as she got off the bed and signalled for Sakura to follow her. Sakura on the other hand took a deep breath, swallowed hard and bit her lip once more before following Ino out of the small minimalist room and into the room right beside it, filled to the brim with geisha gear.

Sakura almost gasped at how much there was of it. The walls were stacked with cases filled with kimonos, shelves full of different types of sandals. There were two mirrors; the tables they stood on were filled with all essential makeup and draws full of hair pins and combs. Whoever this blonde woman was, she was definitely a master geisha.

"Hmm… this one should fit you," Ino commented as she pulled a case off one of the shelves and opened it to peer inside. "You're about my size apart from in the bosom area, but this one should do… come on, you need a bath first."

Ino set down the case with the kimono as she walked passed the cherry haired woman back to the original room they were in and followed Kakashi's path down the stairs. Sakura right on her heel, the pain from her leg seemed to numb as she got use to it and could walk more freely. She still had a long way to go to get her old stance back though.

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror and sighed, she looked flawless once more. Her hair was tied up even more decoratively by Ino who had done her outmost best on the rose haired woman. Sakura after all was the bait, the eye candy, whilst Ino and Temari were the taste of the goods.

"What do you think?" Sakura asked the silver haired ninja sitting on the floor by the door, his back leaning against the wall, one leg straight and the other bent allowing him to rest his arm on it. His ink black eye rose from his book to gaze at Sakura and stared at her dumbly. Sakura was almost about to give up, she wasn't expecting any compliments but at least an 'okay' would be nice. Sakura wasn't even sure why she had asked, but she guessed that for some reason, she needed his approval.

Kakashi seemed to slip out of his daze because he smiled at her from behind his mask, his eyes crinkly at the sides as he raised his thumbs up before returning to his book. Sakura sighed knowing that that would be all Kakashi would give her.

"You ready?" Ino called from the small hall as she walked elegantly into the room. Her pale blue kimono decorated with deeper blue and silver flowers made her already bright blue eyes stand out further and with the black makeup around them they looked alluring even to Sakura's eyes. She looked back into the mirror she was standing by and looked herself over. The deep scarlet kimono suited her hair well, she had hundreds of kimono's back in the Uchiha mansion in exactly the same colour, but something about this one made her feel calm. Not like the other ones, she felt irritated whenever she wore them, but not with this one. Her slightly paler obi provided the right contrast and the pink and silver flowers decorating the outer layer seemed to give it a touch of flavour.

Sakura nodded. She was finally going to meet the second Uchiha in her lifetime and she knew he would be the last; no other Uchiha's had survived the slaughter Itachi had committed them to.

"Kakashi, the carriage is waiting outside," Ino said looking down at the silver haired ninja who nodded wordlessly closing his book and walking out of the room to the carriage Ino had spoken of. "Come on,"

Sakura once again followed the leadership of the blonde haired woman as they met with another in the hallway. Sakura suspected she was Temari, the third and final geisha assigned to the mission. This woman didn't have the kind look of Ino even though both were blonde and about the same height. She was wearing a pale ivory kimono decorated with autumn leaves and a matching fan in her hands. Sakura's eyes met hers but neither said a word as they watched each other wearily.

"Good you're done too," Ino said with a smile as she led the two women down the stairs and out of the wooden gates that lead to the exit of the house. Like Ino had said earlier, the carriage that would take them to their destination was already there, Kakashi sitting on top of it, once again his book in hand. Sakura couldn't help but get slightly peeved at how much attention he could give to one book when there were three gorgeous women who had trained to lure any man right in front of him.

Ino climbed into the carriage first, followed by Temari and Sakura was left till last. She gazed through the window at the busy people all around, the atmosphere; this amount of life was something that Sakura had not been accustomed to for a long while now. But she was growing to like it again.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked as Ino gave her a side glance. Temari on the other hand didn't seem to hear either of the two women and continued to stare out of the window.

"Uchiha Sasuke's home, he and a few business companions of his are having a celebration." Ino stated.

"What are they celebrating?" Sakura asked. She needed as much information as she could to help her formulate a plan to hide her true identity.

"The eradication of sand nin Protestants that went after the Kazekage," Temari had finally spoken up and it had taken Sakura by surprise. She noted this new information in her head and found new questions she wanted answered. But too many questions led to suspicion and she wasn't going to jeopardise her relationship with the two fellow geisha when she was suppose to act like she knew nothing of what was going on in the world around her.

"Uchiha Sasuke is the Konoha Anbu captain, he led the attack," Ino finished off.

Sakura nodded slightly before letting her gaze fall back to the town she once had called home. It had changed slightly, most of the building she had known as a child were rebuilt, and surprisingly she recognised a few old faces that had somehow survived the onslaught of the Uchiha genius. The town had changed, but to her it still felt like home.

She had barely enough time to remember happy memories that lined each street because the carriage had stopped and her mission began. Kakashi had jumped down from the driving seat of the carriage and opened the door offering his hand to Sakura to help her out. She took it and gracefully slipped out of the carriage.

"Arigato," Sakura muttered to which Kakashi merely nodded then continued to help the other two women out as well.

Sakura gazed up at the home of the younger Uchiha brother. It was obviously smaller than the mansion of his older brother. But it did not look any less cold and uninviting. Sakura guessed all her assumptions were about to be proved right as the wooden door of the house slid open and the face of a young girl popped out to greet them. She bowed respectfully as the three women walked in past her and slid off their sandals. Kakashi the last to enter the home followed after the woman as they were lead by the younger girl deeper into the mansion.

Sakura couldn't stop her heart beating so hard, she couldn't stop her breathing from being so uneven. Was she stupid? She was going from one Uchiha monster to another! Why hadn't she just run away when she got the chance to? Any chance to! Though she knew in the back of her mind that she had no chance, not with Kakashi close by.

Her forest orbs were glued to the ground as they walked quietly and gracefully along, the sound of men enjoying themselves was growing louder and as they stopped before the door of the source of all the noise, Sakura thought she was about ready to faint. She had never been this scared of a ceremony before, she had performed hundreds, all were flawless and left the men that watched them begging for her attention. But this time, she was practically shaking from fright. Part of it was because she didn't know what she was getting herself into, Uchiha Sasuke could be the kindest man in the world, (though she doubted it) or he could be ten times worse than the monster she had left behind.

The younger girl that reminded Sakura so much of Mako-chan, slid open the door and bowed once more as Kakashi took the lead this time and the three women followed. The noise didn't die one bit, only seemed to rise as the men began to discuss the three beauties that had just walked in on their celebrations. Sakura had survived this many times before, and on her own so she wasn't the least bit bothered about it. What bothered her was that they had grown to a stop, in front of a man.

Her eyes continued to be glued to the ground as she waited for Kakashi to speak. Ino and Temari were on either side of her, both holding their posture to the outmost perfection that left Sakura lagging from fright.

"Sasuke-sama," Sakura heard Kakashi say but didn't look up.

"Kakashi-sensei," The voice of the second man was deep and smooth. But then something hit her… SENSEI?! She couldn't believe it, Kakashi had taught this Uchiha monster?!

"No need to call me that Sasuke, I haven't been your teacher in years," Kakashi replied with a slight laugh.

"No need to be so formal either Kakashi," The Uchiha man replied. "So these would be the geisha you brought for the entertainment?"

Sakura's jaw tightened as she could feel herself go light headed. She was chanting in her head not to faint, it would be more embarrassing to faint now then not have come at all.

"Yes, Sasuke, this is Ino, Temari and Sakura," Sakura was confused as to why Kakashi had left her till last when if he said it in order they stood, she would be second from whichever side he started from. But that flew out of her mind as she bowed slowly with the other women. Her eyes needed to rise, she need to look him in the eyes however much she didn't want to. Forcing her orbs to rise up the male physique of the man before her she took in his ink black yukata, his pale but strong looking arms, his built chest through the material of his clothing and then, those onyx black eyes, framed by his raven black hair.

Sakura almost gasped but held her posture, smiling lightly at him. She could definitely see the family resemblance, and she was scared it would not only involve his looks.


	5. Dog Fight

**Pink Thread of Silk**

**Chapter 5: Dog Fight**

"How long are you planning on keeping her here?" The silver haired ninja asked as he propped himself up against the wall of the dimly lit room that the Uchiha in front of him called his study. There were no other souls in the room apart from the two men that seemed deep in discussion.

"How ever long it takes to lure my brother here," The Uchiha replied his tone of voice emotionless and if Sakura could hear it now, her thoughts on family resemblance would have been proved right again.

"Is it true?" Kakashi asked, hoping he wouldn't have to add anymore to that and the youngest Uchiha would understand him. But to his dismay, Sasuke offered no light on the subject. "That you're planning to settle down?"

Sasuke smirked. If there was one thing at that very moment that he hated almost as much as his brother, was the thought of a wife. He had no intension of getting married, he was planning on getting a woman pregnant then stealing the child once it was born, raise it as the Uchiha that it would be. However indecent it may have seemed to anyone else, almost shockingly uncivilized, to the Uchiha genius, it was all in a days work. Sasuke had no intention of keeping any woman around him longer than it took to get her pregnant.

Kakashi noticed the dark look on his former students face and took that as an answer to his question, a big fat 'no'. This didn't surprise him in the least; it would have surprised him more to hear that he was indeed settling down.

"Have you found a woman of your liking?" Kakashi continued. It wasn't that he was all that interested in the Uchiha's private life, though he guessed he would be the only one to hear any of it from the lips of Sasuke himself. But he wasn't a gossiper and he didn't like to intrude on private and useless information. This he needed to know though.

Sasuke nodded slowly after a moments thought, he then opened his mouth to speak but the words didn't come out. Both ninja's eyes turned to the fusuma doors and both stood in silence as they waited for the person on the other side to either enter, or move away. To Kakashi's slight annoyance they had decided to enter.

The door slid open to reveal a head of blonde in a pretty powder blue kimono; she bowed down low and addressed both men inside. "Sire, the food is getting cold and the men seek your companionship," she said before slowly getting to her feet, letting all the years of geisha training ease her slight nerves.

"Ino, you do know you don't have to be so formal with us right?" Kakashi commented as he pushed himself off the wall.

"Just sticking to character." The blonde geisha smirked and winked at the older nin who rolled his eyes. "How long are we going to keep her in the dark like this?" Ino dove deep into the waters she shouldn't have been swimming in, but she was slowly starting to like the rose haired woman, and she knew, the longer she was planning on sticking with Sasuke, the worse it would end up on her.

Ino never in her life wanted to get stuck in a raging, fight to the death war between the two Uchiha brothers like Sakura was now. She understood that it could only lead to pain, if only her new friend could see that too. But even if she did, what could she do?

"For however long I decide to," Sasuke said in a cold voice, he had never liked Ino that much, ever since they were kids she had practically stalked him to death and it had pissed him off to the point where he had to beat the shit out of the rest of her team for her to start hating him back. "Keep you mouth shut Ino, or I will make you regret it."

"Sasuke," Kakashi started but only got that far.

"Big words, if only you could live up to half of the ones that crawl out of your filthy mouth," Ino snapped narrowing her eyes at the Uchiha.

But Sasuke seemed to take it all in his stride, the snide remarks he was slowly getting used to, and he preferred them than the constant lovey looks he was receiving from the same blonde ninja only a few months back.

The other two ninja only watched as the Uchiha stood slowly from his seat behind the kotatsu table and made his way towards the door Ino was standing by. "Just remember what I said Ino, you wouldn't want to face the _fatal_ consequences of any bad actions, now would you?"

Ino chose and rightfully so, to stay silent. She merely followed, with the older jounin at her side as Sasuke led the way back to the party.

"What cccccc-country are you fff-from?" Came the slurred question of a man at least three times her own age. But Sakura took it all as a days work, she forced a smile on her face as she poured another cup of sake into the small dish, though her own judgement screamed for her to stop before the man was too drunk out of his skull to know what actions he could take with the rose haired woman, and what he definitely couldn't.

"From the cloud country, have you ever been sire?" Sakura was starting to get bored of this, her target for mission 'eye candy' had disappeared somewhere, along with the silver haired nin who had brought her here and Ino. She would have been suspicious had she not known that the youngest Uchiha was Kakashi's former student and if she hadn't learnt over the short space of time, to trust Ino, who she considered her friend.

"Maaany tiiimes," The white haired man answered as he shot down the freshly poured sake drink. Her eyes turned to the only other face she knew in the room and watched as Temari poured sake for two men who looked decent enough. Sakura was starting to think she had no luck in this business, first to get captured by the Satan reincarnated, only to then be taken to his sibling and now serving a hermit who would still make a pass at her though she was nowhere near his age.

Just as Sakura was beginning to contemplate the consequences of take out her secret dagger a slitting the throats of half the men in the room before fleeing, her target, followed by two friendly faces, returned to the room and Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. The old man, she had caught on before as being named Jiraya was babbling away at her side, but Sakura no longer had any interest in listening to him, so she blocked out all his words and merely gazed innocently at the younger Uchiha.

He was handsome… oh who was she kidding, he was hot! He was sexy; everything a woman could look for looks wise. She didn't quite understand how his parents could have gotten it so right with both of their kids. It was almost intoxicating, watching him talk, move and react to the situations around him. But Sakura guessed that looks came at a price, a very high slash in their personalities.

Out of nowhere she seemed to start contemplating her plan. Now that she thought about it rationally, she would be lucky to slice her own throat in a room filled with ninja let alone one of theirs, even if they were half dead from alcohol consumption.

Her apple green eyes turned from a blonde ninja who took an unsteady seat beside the snow haired drunk she had been serving. He looked around her age, probably matching the age of her target. His clear blue eyes had caught her attention for a moment, but her head was too filled with what she had yet to do.

"Sakura-chan?" Her head almost snapped to the side had she not remembered she was a geisha and all her actions had to be graceful, neat and tidy. Sakura turned her head to find Kakashi staring at her, she could tell he was smiling by his eyes and she had also noticed that he was sitting beside Uchiha Sasuke, and his attention seemed to be fully on her as well.

Now she was screwed. However awkward it was talking to Kakashi, it would be a million times worse when it came to talking to Satan's sibling. But Sakura, as always couldn't see any way out, so as always, she was trapped with an unpredictable life line.

The rose haired woman stood slowly, apologising as best she could, and enough for the two men before her to understand, that she would be leaving them before making her slow way towards the table of doom. Sakura kneeled, bowing slowly to both men and offering a small smile to Kakashi who had been practically beaming at her.

"Sakura-chan here is a very famous geisha in the cloud country," Sakura breathed a mental sigh of relief. At least she could trust the silver haired nin to remember and stick to the story they had made up before hand.

"Is that so?" Sasuke said slowly, his gaze not leaving the woman's form for a second as he inspected her stature, her figure and the way she held herself in his presence. Sasuke was no fool, he understood that women found him good looking; he also knew that both men and women found him unnerving a slightly chilling considering that his life mission was to kill his own flesh and blood. That in turn reminds you his own flesh and blood managed to kill the whole of the rest of his clan. It seemed to get from bad to worse in his family.

"You give me too much credit sire," Sakura replied calmly though inside she was shaking with nerves. She herself couldn't believe how well she was pulling it off, it was as if her body was moving with no need of the brains help which was trapped in its own little nervous breakdown world.

"Oh no, I only give credit where it's due," Sakura couldn't understand why Kakashi was acting so strange, when they were travelling she couldn't make him say more than four words to her, yet here he was dishing compliments as if he loved everything about her.

"Have you got a Danna?" Sakura felt like she had slammed against a brick wall then another slammed into her back. Why was he asking this? He couldn't be thinking of offering to be after such a short period of time, and even if he was, she couldn't accept, Itachi would slaughter her.

"Yes sire," Sakura said lightly, though she didn't know what she would do if he asked who he was.

It was almost as if Kakashi had read her mind because shortly after her muttered comment he added in. "He's a very rich ninja in the cloud country, takes very good care of her."

Sasuke almost smirked at how well this was all playing out. He wouldn't lie and say the woman in front of him wasn't alluring, that she wasn't something different from the usual one track loved up women that he was accustomed to. But he also couldn't see just what his brother had been so addicted to, so drugged over to risk his life for.

It had been about a year ago that he and his brother had last met and it had left scars on mostly his own body like usual. But something had changed about his brother, he wasn't as invincible as he made out he was when Sasuke was younger. In all his years of risking his life to be the avenger of his family, Sasuke finally had a chance, a hope. A pink thread of silk kept him tied to his future, though Sasuke wasn't sure how strong she was and how long she could last.

Sasuke locked his eyes with hers. She was going to be more then a ticket to his brother, she was going to be the ticket to the end.

"Excuse me, I must meet with my other guests." Sasuke said confidently, his eyes not leaving the trained orbs of the geisha before him. She could hide her fear well, she could hide all her emotions well, but Sasuke could still see right through her.

Sakura bowed as the raven haired nin stood and made his way deeper into the sea of guests who talked amongst each other, sake spilling in all directions as her fellow geisha tried to keep them under control.

Sakura let out a breath of relief, her apple green orbs closing as she seemed to relax.

"Well done, I didn't think he would bite the apple that easily," Sakura's head instantly snapped up and her eyes focused on Kakashi before once again breathing out a sigh of relief. She had forgotten he was there. Kakashi put two thumbs up at her before turning one thumb to point at his empty sake cup.

Sakura smiled softly at how completely common this man was, he might be a great ninja and the sensei of an Uchiha, but in character he was something completely else, a true person. Picking up the sake pot Sakura realised that maybe this wouldn't be as dangerous as she thought it would be in the beginning. She had Kakashi, she had Ino and Temari, so maybe this would all blow over and then, she could run away.

Kakashi walked down the dark alleys of the town that he called home, the town that he was supposedly working against, for _him_, to protect _her._ It was weird to him that he always somehow got the worst missions, the ones that involved him using unwillingly his emotions. He hated it, because every time he cared that person or whatever made him care would be quickly taken from him and never given back.

The silver haired nin was confused, why had Tsunade wanted him on this exact mission? Why did he have to work with a former student? Kakashi didn't have anything against Sasuke… well not much anyway. But he knew that whatever the Uchiha was involved in meant trouble for everyone around him.

Kakashi also knew that trouble would sooner rather than later in the current situation come and bite Sasuke in the butt as well as the rest of them.

The silver haired nin looked up at the dark night sky, the clouds ahead raging, fighting their own battle as droplets of rain splattered on his flawless face. Kakashi's one open eye closed and he stood in the middle of the alley and tried his best to get rid of the one thought that had been pestering him for months now.

The cherry blossom.

She was the main reason Kakashi didn't want to be on this mission, he was fine in putting his life in danger, he was fine with knowing he wouldn't stand a chance in a full on battle with her captor. But he wasn't fine about caring for her, caring for her enough to get hurt if something happen to her.

Her death after all was inevitable.

However much Itachi seemed to be addicted to her, he had no power over her life. In his care she would sooner or later take her own life. And even if she did escape, her past has too many ties and Itachi has too many enemies. She would be dead before she could look at another man or at anything really.

Her life was tied to the Uchiha family, they controlled her fate and Kakashi didn't want any part in it.

The silver haired nin hammered his fist into the alley wall as he tried to let the rain that ran from his hair to his face settle his own raging emotions, just as the sky he was standing under. Thunder rumbled above him, protesting against the assault of the lightning as it sparked illuminating the nin's face for only a second.

But for some reason, just like months ago when he had first laid his onyx eye on her, he couldn't get her out of his head. She had been through as much shit in her life as he had, they had both suffered and deep in his soul he could almost feel that she could understand him like no other person, no other woman.

Kakashi knew though, that he couldn't risk it. She was too involved in the situation and knowing Sasuke, he would only make matters worse.

'_But maybe you could save her'_ He thought to himself then almost laughed at how stupid that thought was. He could never save anyone he cared about; all that he cares for dies. It was ironic that she was the next on his care list and already she had a death warrant implanted on her forehead.

Cherry blossom hair flashed in his mind, cherry rose lips, apple green eyes, her lithe figure. Why of all the women he had met in his life did he have to become too wrapped up in the dead woman walking?

He hadn't even had a proper conversation with her, only ever watched her from afar, knowing and fearing her judgement of him. It was so not like him to be like this, normally he wouldn't think twice about what others though of him. But her judgement meant everything to him. He had acted like a schoolboy for her, combing his hair so it wasn't too messy and didn't completely stick out in all directions. He had even contemplated on brushing his teeth twice one morning, but then decided against it as it may show he was trying too hard for a missing-nin living in the wild with no roof above his head.

He wasn't all too fussed about her knowing he was Sasuke's teacher, it showed he had a normal life before he turned 'evil' as she should think and turned on the village he was currently strolling through. After all, even Itachi had a normal childhood, though he did ruin it for his brother.

Kakashi's sensitive hearing picked up movement to his left and his head snapped up from resting on the brick wall he had been hammering to try and vent his emotional frustration. His hands still held in fists, he backed away from the wall and looked around him. His senses as usual, at their best.

It would probably be a stray cat wondering the night streets, or maybe Naruto lost after getting drunk at the party, though Kakashi then reasoned, that that would be a lot louder.

But nothing came to give a plausible explanation to the very strong feeling of someone watching him very intently. No cat could give this kind of aura out and Kakashi had a feeling that he had felt it before, though he berated himself for not being able to remember just quite where.

Slowly he took out a kunai from the pouch on his hip and as it shone menacingly in the faint light of the mood behind the dark clouds and rain splattered onto it, Kakashi's hold on it only tightened.

He slowly walked out of the alley, whoever this person was, they definitely weren't good news and he had a duty to take them as far away from the village and civilians as is physically possible, even if it is as a corpse.

Kakashi was glad that whoever this was, they were following him, as soon as the silver haired nin reached the exit gate of the town he flipped the kunai in his hand and tensed his muscles, jumping into the closest tree he formulated a plan of action.

The silver haired nin hid in the camouflage that the tree offered him, it was dark, the only light coming faintly from the moon but mostly from random lightning sparks. Kakashi instantly knew that being in a tree wasn't the smartest idea he had had that day. Though nothing seemed to be going his was lately.

Slipping the bandana he had wrapped to hide his sharingan Kakashi inspected the area. The enemy was close, very close and the more his sharingan got to work the more it seemed to point to one place. A small clearing a little more than eight meters away. Stealthily he slipped onto another tree with a full view of the clearing that was hidden from him by his only protection.

Kakashi breath hitched in his throat at what he saw. He hadn't been expecting this, but it was all starting to make sense in his head. Itachi couldn't trust him completely, what missing-nin could truly trust another?

Two slit like eyes gazed up at him from the clearing, a smirk plastered on the thin and pale lips of a sickly pale nin that had always offered no warmth to the onyx eyed nin. Jumping wearily from the tree, kunai still held firmly in his grip, he addressed the nin in his usual emotionless voice.

"Itachi sent you?" He asked, it was more a statement than a question.

"Well what a smart little ninja you are," Orochimaru replied, his smirk not wavering in the least.

"The woman's safe, she's met the junior Uchiha and the plan is in full course." Kakashi continued not bothered by the snide remark.

"I know," The snake like tongue slipped out of the lips of its owner and slithered in the moist night air. The lightning above the two, well one man and one monster lit up the clearing. The eyes of the monster before him seemed to only look more evil and demonic the more light was offered to them. "I'm here to warn _you_."

Kakashi's silver brow arched in questioning. A warning?

"Stay away from Uchiha property or I may just have to make you regret it." Orochimaru said, his tongue darting out once he had finished and his smirk only widening. He would kill the silver haired nin anyway, but hands had to be kept off of the Uchiha woman. He would have a better excuse to kill the nin before him though, if he did go against the rules of his boss.

"As far as I know, I haven't laid a finger on her." Kakashi was mentally kicking himself. He couldn't believe someone had noticed his feeling towards the rose haired woman. Most of all, the evil butt licking weasel like Orochimaru who would use any excuse to kill him.

This was another factor that Kakashi knew was inevitable. Either he or Orochimaru would die in the near future, it hadn't been decided as to whom, but time would tell and Kakashi had no plans as to finishing his life quite just yet.

"This is a warning Kakashi, you touch her and forget about taking another breath." Orochimaru jumped onto the branch of tree close by. "Remember canine, I'm watching you, so be a good boy or else you wont like the punishment."

He disappeared into the leaves of the trees, his aura disappearing further and further away. Kakashi stood still, the water rolling down his face and dripping off the tip of his nose. This was bad to say the least and Kakashi had to sort his head out before he could see the cherry blossom again, or he may regret giving Orochimaru an easy invitation to a fight to the death.

His hold on the kunai tightened as he wrung his arm and threw the kunai at the tree Orochimaru had jumped into, the wood splintering from the force of the impact. The war and everything Kakashi wanted to stay away from, was haunting and chasing him. He had no option anymore…

…he had to fight.


	6. Ninja Failure

**Pink Thread of Silk**

**Chapter 6: Ninja Failure **

"Wake up!" Ino called out as she slid Sakura's fusuma door open and stuck her head in for a mere second to take notice of the bubblegum mess between the set of white sheets, which was the only part of Sakura that she could see.

Sakura's emerald orbs fluttered open as she sat up slowly. Her groggy voice found the intruder. "What time is it?"

"Five in the morning, now come on!" Ino called out as she ran down the hall on her way to wake up the third Geisha.

It had been a week since she had last seen her target and she was slowly getting used to the peace of her new life. She was starting to leave her horror filled past in the back of her mind. Sakura was going to enjoy every second so she could have at least some positive memories. But it was hard concentrating on forgetting her past, when all that she did everyday, was to bring herself closer to the one thing linking her to it.

Uchiha Sasuke was a slippery customer, or that was how Sakura had concluded her analysis of him. He got what he wanted, when he wanted it and if he didn't, he would find a way to get it. There was no chance of forcing him into anything, he made orders not took them, and there was no point trying your luck with him, he seemed to have all the luck in the world.

She had tried, in vain, with her fellow geisha to find him and once again get his attention. But the man was more elusive than it seemed at first. He had apparently taken on the duties of being the anbu that he was, and it didn't leave much time to socialise. Sakura's fears of going home early were slowly dwindling.

Sakura looked up to her door where the head of the blonde woman was once again scowling at her. "I said, GET UP!"

With a small grumble of words such as 'stupid Ino-pig' and other random things Sakura's mind concocted, Sakura washed, dressed and was making her way downstairs in a plain yukata, tying her hair up in a plain fashion, when two small girl obviously in a hurry, slipped past her and almost knocked her right off her feet.

"Watch it!" She snapped, her anger already getting the better of her. She had once been a morning person, but that girl was long since dead, and now, she detested the idea of an early morning. In this situation, she had no choice. So she settled on second best, making the lives of those around her, as unpleasant as she felt.

Sliding open the doors leading to the kitchen, Sakura acknowledged three people. Ino, who was currently setting the brunt of her own morning temper at one of the servant girls who had spilt some tea on her yukata. Temari was sitting a little away from Ino and was trying to ignore whatever she could. And last but not least, the face she had been dying to see since he disappeared after the meeting with Sasuke.

"Kakashi!" Sakura grinned forgetting all of the anger she had been feeling before.

The man in question looked up at her from his dirty reading material and raised his arm whilst showing her an eye crease. A dead give away that he had smiled.

"Where have you been all this time?" She continued, just because she was glad he was there, didn't mean she would forget his sudden absence.

"Anbu recon mission." He replied and Sakura instantly gave up. For one, he couldn't and wouldn't indulge in any highly secretive fire country information from any of his mission. And two, he would never explain just how he could still manage to be the anbu of a town he was apparently working against. How could a missing nin work in the town he was missing from?

But the pink haired woman had never bothered to press the issue. She honestly didn't want to know the answer. If it was to try and kill her captor, then she wouldn't stand in Kakashi's or the villages way. If it was to kill her, then she couldn't exactly protect herself with the vague memories of her past ninja life.

Sakura, remembering why it was exactly that she was up at the crack of dawn, turned to Ino with a full blown glare.

"What's the big idea?! It's five in the morning!" Sakura growled. She was comfortable around these people, so she allowed herself to relax, to trust those around her, because she knew that they wouldn't let a bad thing happen to her.

Kakashi was obviously getting paid for his efforts, but Sakura hoped in a little part of her heart, that he would protect her anyway, even if he wasn't being paid the fortune that was waiting for him at the end of the very long tunnel.

"Training." Ino replied as she took her own glare off of the terrified servant girl and replaced it on the rose haired woman.

"Training? I don't need more training, I have my geisha skills up to scratch." Sakura replied confused. If there was anyone that needed to hone her geisha skills a little more, it was the blonde in front of her.

"Not geisha training, ninja training." Ino replied with a roll of her cerulean orbs.

Sakura gaped.

Ninja training? She hadn't known that she would be forced to fight. She was sure that Itachi didn't plan on that happening either. Unless he was playing one of his frequent mind games that he loved to inflict on her and only her. Even when he was miles away, he still knew how to worm himself into her heart and mind.

"Ninja training?" Sakura repeated her first thought out-loud.

Ino nodded. "I'm not just a pretty face you know! I can kick some serious butt."

Sakura's brow rose in disbelief. If Ino could stamp on an ant in some of the footwear she wears it would be a miracle, let alone a full grown ninja.

"I'm serious Sakura, both me and Temari have trained to not only be the perfect geisha, but also to be the perfect kunoichi." Sakura's brow rose higher.

She was left in the dust again.

Without letting her thoughts be read too much by her companions, especially the silver haired nin who had started watching her intently since the words of 'ninja training' popped out, Sakura cleared her thoughts and asked the question she had slamming in her head at said words.

"Who's training me?" She asked, to which Ino kept silent.

"I'll be partially taking care of your ninja education." Kakashi said, his head in his book as Sakura's attention turned to him.

"Who's doing the other part?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." Kakashi finished and Sakura could already feel the ground beneath her shaking. The devil in hell was about ready to rid her of her sins and let her pay for each and every one of them.

"You have got to be kidding me." Sakura muttered as she sat in a daze at the table in front of the breakfast she suddenly didn't feel well enough to eat.

"No joke Sakura, this is the perfect opportunity to place the plan in action." Kakashi said coolly not taking his eye away from the book in his hand. "Neither of the other two geisha will be there, so you're going to have to go at it alone."

Sakura sighed. If it wasn't one monster, it was his brother. Sakura guessed that it was just her destiny to live the life of a puppet between two extreme forces.

"He won't hurt you, so use your time wisely Sakura." With that and a puff of smoke, Kakashi had disappeared from his seat. Sakura was now sure that he didn't act like any missing nin that she had met back at her prison. He may just be a unique individual, or more likely, he had a hidden truth that she wasn't willing to know or accept.

"You better eat that." Ino said quietly as Sakura's eyes rose from where Kakashi had been sitting, to the woman who spoke. "Your going to need the energy," Sakura offered her only confusion. "Your first lesson with Sasuke-kun starts today."

Sakura could already feel the bruises.

* * *

"You look fine." Ino announced as Sakura gave herself a cautious look in the mirror, one eye squinted as she looked at her reflection critically.

"This looks so revealing though." Sakura replied as she tried to push up the black jounin figure hugging top so that not the whole of the top of her breasts were on show. The fish net finishing at the top didn't help in hiding anything.

"If you think this is bad, then you should take a look at the anbu clothing Kakashi got." Ino commented as she smirked.

Sakura wasn't convinced, but she guessed that this clothing was for a reason. Two in fact. To help her learn how to fight quickly, and to lure Sasuke in whilst doing it. She just bloody hoped it worked.

Taking a last glance at her reflection she turned away from the mirror and left through the room door, Ino on her heel as they entered the hall where Kakashi was waiting. Perverted book in one hand, and two kunai spinning expertly in the other.

He looked up when the two women were in front of him, his dark eye roamed down the rose haired figure as he suppressed the urge to compliment her on her appearance. Instead, he coughed shakily before offering the impatient woman an eye-crease as he put him book away and led them to the exit door of the Yamanaka Geisha house.

Slipping on her sandals she once again thought about how completely different she looked. She had always been dressed in comfortable (looks wise) clothing, that never revealed too much of anything. But now, she was stuck in a very figure hugging jounin uniform that she wouldn't have been caught dead in in the Uchiha prison only a week ago. But Sakura just guessed it was part of what she had to pull through with, and she didn't really mind looking like a kunoichi, they were everything that she believed in, though she knew she never would be.

With a hug and a small wave to Ino, the two left made their way towards training area 4 where obviously Sasuke would be waiting for her.

"Why aren't you training me today?" Sakura asked as the thought popped into her mind. The silver haired nin seemed like he had nothing better to do and it would save her a lot of panic attacks.

"Sasuke requested this lesson with you, I'm not about to go denying him the… pleasure, now am I?" He asked as Sakura's eyes narrowed from the obviously amused crease of the eye from the older nin.

"You just want to see me get thrown around by a prodigy and look like a goof." Sakura muttered under her breath as the man beside her chuckled.

Within ten minutes they had entered training area 4 and weren't surprised to see Sasuke already waiting for them there.

"Are you sticking around to watch?" Sakura asked, looking up at the man before they got into ear shot of the Uchiha genius.

Kakashi shook his head. If there was anything that he needed to stay away from at the moment, it was anything to do with Sakura getting filthy and been thrashed about. What he needed most was some peaceful time with his beloved book.

Before Sakura could even argue, the silver haired nin had pulled a few seals and disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Bastard." Sakura cursed as she glared at the spot the older nin had occupied a moment before.

"Excuse me?" Sakura's head snapped up to gaze into onyx as she mentally slapped herself for not noticing the proximity of the Uchiha as well as her language in said proximity.

Laughing nervously she offered the Uchiha a wavering smile. "Nothing."

Sasuke's dark brow rose slightly but he let the comment pass as he suspected that it hadn't been aimed at him.

"Have you ever had ninja training before?" He asked, straight to the point as always.

Sakura nodded her head. "When I was twelve I had been training for my academy exam, but I never managed to complete it." Sakura said trying to look calm and collected.

"Why?"

Sakura stiffened. She hadn't been expecting that comment to backfire on her.

"Em, my parents died and I was sent off to the cloud village and enrolled in geisha school." Sakura replied a little too hurriedly for her liking. But the story matched the truth rather well; the only thing missing from the story was the older brother of the man before her.

Sasuke already knew the truth and was rather taken aback at how well she could lie to him. He was almost impressed at her abilities when they hadn't been trained for so long. A ninja never divulged more information than needed, and always knew what to keep their traps shut about.

Sakura wasn't going to crumble easily.

"Show me." Sasuke said in monotone as Sakura offered him a confused brow crease.

"Show you what?" She asked.

"What you know, attack me." Once again, Sakura could already feel the bruises.

* * *

_Please let me die!_ Sakura screamed in her head as she got shot to the ground yet again. It was the millionth time and she could sense Sasuke getting impatient. Maybe she wasn't meant to know any of the stuff! Maybe she was just meant to live the meaningless life she had been living the past few years as a geisha with no emotions and an early death as destiny. She wouldn't have been surprised if it was.

"Up." Sasuke barked at her as Sakura screamed bloody murder in her head. She had enough of his orders of his impatience, of… HIM! How could she ensnare this man when she couldn't stand him.

"I can't." Sakura replied, trying to keep her vicious tone in order, though she knew Sasuke wasn't fooled.

"Up." Sasuke repeated. Sakura merely groaned. She couldn't believe how far away this image of her now compared to the geisha image she had given him in first meeting. She was anything but graceful now.

"No! You're just going to slam me down against the ground again and not teach me a single bloody thing." Sakura argued as she looked up to merely glare at the Uchiha prodigy who looked as calm as always.

"Up." The single word that left those perfect lips of his just sent Sakura into fresh waves of anger. Didn't he think she was worth more than one word?

"Bastard." Sakura muttered under her breath as she got steadily to her feet, her legs shaking slightly from the strain of the rough training the Uchiha was putting her through.

"Come." Sasuke said in the same tone as the previous word. He turned away from her and began walking deeper into training area 4. Narrowing her eyes slightly at the onyx eyed genius, Sakura followed with no arguments. This was different; anything that didn't involve getting slammed into the dirt by the anbu captain had to be better. She at least prayed it would.

Sakura gazed over the Uchiha's shoulder as he stopped in front of the gate leading to training area 5. Her brow rose in surprise, the land was giving way to water that came crashing down from the waterfall just ahead of her. There were a few boulders that barely grazed the surface, but apart from that and the forest surrounding the large lake like landscape, there was no escaping the water.

"What's this sensei?" Sakura asked as she backed away from the Uchiha and smirked as she watched his form stiffen at the addition to the comment.

"Don't call me that." He said simply and Sakura smirked wider.

"Why not, you _are_ are you not?" Sakura asked innocently. All of the previous face in the dirt incidents had slashed all her earlier nervousness of the Uchiha's presence. If Sasuke touched her, he would be dead faster than he could say 'sorry' though she doubted that even through torture, no soul would force the man to utter that cursed word.

Sasuke merely glared at the her before pointing at the lake and smirking. "Walk on it."

Sakura's brow rose again. "What?"

Sasuke shrugged but inside his head his Cheshire smirk was widening. "I would get you to climb trees but your chakra moulding skills are more advance than that, so we'll skip that bit."

Sakura wasn't too sure if she should take that as a compliment and a blessing in disguise, or curse her natural talent.

"Try it." He finished as he strolled onto the water, his chakra moulded perfectly after years of training and practicing.

Sakura's looked down at the water unsurely but 'what the hey'd' and formed a seal with her slender hands before closing her eyes and focusing her chakra to her feet. She took an unsteady step on the water surface and felt it holding her weight. She smiled slightly as she let her other foot leave the safety of dry land and took a step on the moist surface of the skin of the water. She took another step, her full concentration fully on her chakra management. Her eyes fluttered open as she began to gain confidence and walk a little faster towards the Uchiha genius. With merely a few steps left before she stood directly before him, she couldn't help the smirk that fell on her lips as her orbs met onyx.

She hadn't counted on the smirk being reflected on the smooth and handsome face of the Uchiha prodigy. Her concentration cracked and as she began being submerged by the ice cold water, she could have sworn she heard the water beneath her cackle with mirth and glee.

With a last "Bastard," said before she was swamped by the ice cold hands of the water that had just been itching at the chance to teach her a lesson, she began to doubt her own skills and talents, as well as the mission.

The best she was doing right now was getting the junior Uchiha to hate and despise her company. Hardly even close to the doggy paddle that he should have been doing for her.

What was the point of her being here anyway? Sakura was sure that Temari and Ino would do a much better jobs than she could ever do. She was just annoying the hell out of Sasuke, annoying the hell out of Kakashi, though she doubted he had noticed that much since his mind always seemed to track along the lines of a certain orange book that she despised.

Sakura hadn't even realised she had been sinking deeper and deeper into the depths of the, by looks of things, bottomless lake. She was merely watching the light of the surface begin to get smaller and more distant as she thought about her failures.

Even if she managed to run away from her prison and from this, with a character like Itachi, she was bound not to get very far before he would come and kill her for her betrayal.

Sakura's hand slowly reached out to the light but had no energy left to propel herself to the top.

She would be lucky if Itachi came to kill her in person. More likely he would send one of his groupies to kill his slave woman. He didn't need to dirty his hands with the likes of her.

Sakura watched as the bubbles holding her last breath began to rise to the surface, they were out to save themselves.

She could almost laugh at how ironic this was, finally death was at her door and she wasn't in the least bit scared. She had lived a life of pain and suffering, she had learnt to hate herself in unimaginable ways. She had been tainted, raped and scarred. She was wasted goods, who could want her now?

A strong arm wrapped around her waist as Sakura's eyes began to close sleepily. She felt her chest hit another, a hard muscled chest, though her arms had no energy to grab hold of him, whoever he was. But her eyes flew open when she felt a pair of warm lips crash into her own cold ones. She felt oxygen being forced into her mouth and her body didn't refuse it. She let her burning lungs take in the gift as she allowed the man to press her against him tightly before he propelled them both to the surface. As both heads broke the surface of the water, both took large gulps of oxygen that both lungs had been deprived of.

"What the hell were you doing?!" Sasuke yelled as he still held her firmly against him so as not to let her try that stunt again. She had taken him by surprise, almost shocked him to the point of panic. She had tried to drown herself.

Sakura coughed and spluttered, but didn't reply, she merely let him hold her in his arms, where for the first time in years she felt safe. She didn't know what she had been doing, the best words her mind was offering her was 'giving up'. But she would be damned before she would utter those words to any living soul and especially not the Uchiha before her.

Sakura felt herself being lifted as Sasuke had, still holding her waist in one hand, slipped out of the water to stand on it and then pulled her up bridal style. She hadn't been sure quite when they had reached dry land, but she felt the grass beneath her and was mentally thanking the Uchiha for not allowing her such a cowardly death.

Sasuke looked down at the emerald eyed girl. Those once sparkling emerald orbs were dull and half closed as she gazed up into the sky. Her rose hair was cling to her face as was her jounin uniform, it clung to her even tighter than it had before. Sasuke once again couldn't deny her beauty; he could never deny her that. But there was something broken about her, she looked like a puzzle with most of its pieces missing.

Maybe she was like him…

Uchiha Itachi, had and always would be a manipulative bastard that would get what he wanted, when he wanted and he didn't give a fuck about how it broke others in the process of getting it. Maybe, just like himself, Sakura had been manipulated, broken and moulded into what the older Uchiha wanted them to be.

Sasuke's onyx eyes took in her pale complexion, sickeningly pale. Her teeth had begun to chatter and Sasuke made the decision to take her back, he wouldn't be training her for another week, Kakashi had his first training lesson in three days time. Sasuke just prayed that the older nin would be able to straighten out whatever broken emotion the woman was feeling enough to just give up in the water scenario.

The onyx eyed nin picked up the shaking woman and shared his own returning body heat with her, she snuggled into his chest, he could feel her light breath on his collar bone as she slotted her head under his chin. But what took him more by surprise than her actions, were the words that spilled from her lips as her eyes shut and she fell lost in the land of sleep.

"Thank you…" She had muttered. "Bastard."

Sasuke smirked. She was fine, she just needed rest and a little time to get her head in order. He just wondered if the silver haired nin could help her do that.


	7. Blood Sweat and Tears

**Pink Thread Silk**

**Chapter 7: Blood Sweat and Tears**

Just forget about me, typical, predictable. You knew the end before I started. I can't take no more, you had tricked me once, you had tricked me twice and you would keep on tricking me till the end of my meaningless life…

Two emerald orbs gazed up into the red glaring ones.

I always thought that to watch you suffer would only make me smile. You've watched me suffer time and time again, though I never see your smile.

She couldn't move, he held her captive like all those many times before.

I've never been as alone as I was back then; I sat around by myself all day, your actions made me sick. I couldn't stop laughing at times, you had completely messed up my mental health, I was so unwell.

The blood from the deep gashes on her skin seeped, she didn't seem to notice them though, her full attention, her body and mind were frozen under his gaze, under his world, under his law.

No-one knows what its like to be tortured to your very core quite like me. No-one can do it as well as you could, no one could break another quite like you could. Your love is pain, your love is destruction, your love is your will and none other.

His lips were mere inches from the already bruised and battered ones of the woman before him. His hands left dark prints on her pale skin, he held her tight as he slammed the woman against the wall countless times, watching the crimson liquid seeping down the concrete wall and tainting her pale flesh.

My dreams were never as empty as your conscience seems to be. My dreams were always that little bit out of your reach, you could never get into there, you could never get into my heart, I hated you, I loathed you, but for some reason. I always needed you.

The corner of his lip rose as a smirk fell on his features. He leaned in, his tongue lapping up the blood running down her neck. He could feel her, he could smell her, he could taste her.

In your mind, that meant you could have me, you never thought twice once you made your mind up. I guess you're like me that way. I never thought twice about following you back then, you already had my heart captured in your devils hand, even though back then, you never wanted it.

Her tears spilled over her cheeks, the clear liquid mixing with the crimson as he watched it leak down her naked body.

I always knew there was something about you, something had you not been so evil, could bring good to the world. But I guess someone had tainted you when you were young, a monster must have taken your heart and smashed it before your eyes, just like your doing to me now. But you couldn't have been born evil, no-one, not even you could be born that way, you had to have been good.

"I know you." The words spilled from her lips as he watched them move.

His hand slipped over her sticky skin. The blood, sweat and tears mixing on her flesh. His lips fell on hers in a brutal assault as he pulled her naked body onto his.

That's all you've ever know, isn't it? Brutality, torture and lust. You don't even really know what you're feeling when you look at me, do you? But you do feel something.

Her arms wound around his shoulder as he slipped inside her. She cried out, her tears dripping off her cheeks onto his.

Did you ever cry like you make me? Did you ever know suffering like what you're putting me through? Because even a monster like you can feel something, if you would only open your shattered heart to.

Her sobs disappeared into the night air as he slammed her back against the wall, ravenous to have her, he wanted her, he needed her. Though he never knew why.

Maybe I am your shattered heart. You've broken me into more pieces than I can count. That's why you feel something for me? Maybe I'm a part of you that long ago escaped your hold, you lost you heart and it was placed in another… me.

His lips were searing the bruised skin on her neck as his hands held her legs open so he could have full access. His orbs were shut, yet hers were wide open, tears spilling from them like a river of the whole sorrow she felt. The side of her head rested on his as more words fell from her lips to whisper into this ear.

"You know me."

Your love is something I could never have, because you never possessed enough to give. Did you hate your family that much? Did you hate your heart that much? Do you hate me that much? Or don't you know any better?

Her screams filled the night air as her body was beginning to betray her yet again. Why could she never stop this?! Why could she never stop herself from giving herself to him? Why could he hold such a tight clasp over her soul, why could she never just… let go?

"Sakura" He groaned out her name as he assaulted her rougher, deeper and harder.

After every meeting with you, all I ever wanted to do was sit in the rain. Sit in the mud naked in the rain. It would hide my tears from you; it would cleanse my body and kill your smell. It would give me hope for a better life as every rain drop had chased the sun. Nothing had ever felt so real as it did in that moment, everything fell into place and nothing else seemed to matter.

"Sakura!"

I was so lonely, I wanted life to show me that I was worth more than the toy that I was to you. I knew you felt something for me, an emotion that you would nor could ever figure out.

"Please! Sakura!"

I don't want your words, I don't want to hear your lies, you always say more than what's spoken, your promises were forever broken and you never knew or cared enough to let me go.

Two strong arms were on Sakura's shoulders before her mind could continue. He shook her body, but she refused to open her tightly closed eyes. She didn't want to see him; she didn't want to see herself the way that she was now. She wanted him to leave her, let her cry her soul out yet again on the cold marble floor of her bathroom.

"Sakura, open your eyes." She couldn't, she couldn't stand those eyes, she knew her soul would snap if she saw those red eyes again.

But her heart stopped her mind from thinking as she felt drops on her arm… rain drops? Her orbs began to open, her body defying her mind and following her heart. The arms shaking her shoulders stopped and disappeared as light seeped in through the curtain of her eye lashes.

She didn't see red eyes, she saw something that made the tears stream down her cheeks in relief. It wasn't him who greeted her, it was someone completely different.

It was…

"Kakashi." Sakura choked out as her arms clasped around the older mans shoulders and she felt him stiffen against her. She couldn't help the smile that grew on her lips as she took in his scent, how ever much the man was trying to get her off him.

She sniffed happily willing the tears to vanish as her orbs took in the second and last person beside her.

"Ino." There were tears running down her cheeks too as she watched her friend. She couldn't believe what she had just seen, she couldn't believe what she had heard from Sasuke either.

_How could you try to drown yourself Sakura?_ She thought as their eyes met. Ino hadn't known that Sakura was as broken as she could see now. She hadn't known that Sakura's dreams were filled with nightmares, but she knew exactly who haunted them. Her screams, her sobs and her muttered words had shown her a very clear picture of what the woman who Ino considered her friend, had been put through since been taken into the older Uchiha's household.

It made Ino sick.

The blonde woman's eyes widened as she felt arms wrap around her neck and pull her into another female chest. She only managed a small smile as she caught on to the pink hair from the corner of her eye. With Sakura's back turned, she gave Kakashi a worried look, one that for once, was mirror back in the silver haired ninja's features.

* * *

**2 Weeks Later…**

Cold and dripping the emerald eyed woman walked into what she now called home, behind her, a dry and stoic man followed and watched her every footstep. Sasuke after all, had heard about how the rose haired woman beside him, had woken up the next morning after he had brought her home the day before from her failed suicide attempt.

The sneeze coming from the woman beside him brought Sasuke back to reality. Taking off his sandals he followed Sakura into the kitchen where Ino and two of her apprentice geisha were practicing the tea service. At spotting the rose haired woman, Ino's blue orbs fell wide open.

"What happen?!" She half screamed as she hurried to the side bathroom grabbing a towel before wrapping it around Sakura who sneezed loudly again.

"I lost." Sakura replied, her voice unladylike like thanks to her blocked nose.

Ino's orbs had softened slightly at hearing the news, by the looks of her friends, Ino had been expecting the worst. Another suicide attempt.

Sakura with a sigh kneeled down opposite one of Ino's apprentice geisha, and watched as she poured her tea.

"Explain to me again, why do I have to learn to fight?"

Sasuke calmly kneeled down beside her, the two maiko girls quickly stood and left after the fierce look the blonde woman had sent them.

"Sakura, Konoha is going through a bad stage in time right now and there is a high danger of war between the three greatest hidden villages, Konoha being one." Ino explained as she kneeled down in her previous seat.

Sakura had heard this countless times now, explained not only by Ino, but Kakashi and Sasuke as well. Though Sasuke had less patience and only explained it once then continued to glare at her if she brought it up again.

The ninja training was the only thing that was keeping her going now. Every night her nightmares would come back and the only way she knew to get away from them was to learn to defend herself from the one cause of them all. Sasuke had also been spending more time around her, Sakura knew it was because Ino had probably begged him to as Sakura knew Ino was scared of another attempt by her, to take her own life.

Sakura wasn't desperate enough anymore to do that. She had been given a chance in the form of Uchiha Sasuke, and she would be damned if she would let him go. He would teach her everything he knew and more, her skills had been increasing with every lesson and even though she sat soaking wet, she had learned a great amount in that too.

Though her nightmares still refused to leave her.

Sakura had refused to accept Kakashi's forced offer of using his sharingan, which she had only recently discovered that he possessed, to allow her dreamless nights. She couldn't look into those eyes again, anything that reminded her or him would send her into a panic attack. She understood now more than ever, that coming back to him now, would be death in the first instant. She needed to be strong so she could get away, she needed to be strong so she could support herself and not count on anyone else.

But she wouldn't allow anyone else to know that.

Sasuke sipped the tea Ino had placed before him slowly as he watched the fire in the emerald orbs of the rose haired woman flicker and sway.

Something inside the woman came alive in every spar they had. That something in turn had awaked something inside himself. It was odd this feeling that he had begun feeling towards the woman, it was even starting to eat at him, scare him.

But for some reason, the thought of seeing her again was what kept him going, the risk of death was inching closer day by day, if it be war or his brother. But he seemed to forget that when they sparred. She had come miles from the way she was in their first lesson, she had learned so much and improved on even more.

If Sasuke wasn't the cold hearted bastard that people knew him to be, he would almost say that he was impressed.

Once again Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted as the rose haired woman shot up from her seat and ran into the bathroom that was stationed right beside the kitchen a retching noise coming from that direction filled both his and the blonde woman's ears.

"This is your entire fault!" Ino glared at the Uchiha as she got up and left after her friend.

But it wasn't, it wasn't him that had suggested underwater camouflage techniques, it was purely her. Sasuke suspected that it was Kakashi putting the thoughts into her head, but when he had spoken to him the day before, Kakashi had commented on the same thing.

The woman didn't know when to stop, nor was she willing to.

But her body was slowly telling her its limit; she had gotten a high temperature last night but still refused to give up on training this morning, give up on training in ice cold water when they could have done something simpler and at less cost to her body.

Though she had shown her full skill of chakra management and learnt that her anger greatly amplified her power, she still wasn't quite there yet.

With her, any emotion amplified her power, just as it had with a certain blonde friend of Sasuke's who he hadn't had time to see privately these past few months. He was sure to amend that mistake.

Sakura still wasn't anywhere near the level a ninja should be at at her age, but she was getting there. Faster than most, she was getting there.

* * *

A loud explosion sounded in the west as emerald orbs snapped open and the form of the previously sleeping woman sat up in the blink of an eye. She scrambled out of bed and rushed the window of her room that allowed her a small view of the smoke rising up in the side of the village where the explosion had taken place.

"What the heck?" She whispered as her eyes widened and she took in enemy nins approaching.

The fusuma door slammed open as a silver head pocked through, dark orb met emerald and instantly Sakura grabbed here jounin clothes from the chair she had flung them on earlier and began getting dressed, Kakashi already moving on to the other rooms of the Yamanaka Geisha house.

Within less than two minutes Sakura was already running out of her room and rushing down the stairs, Ino and Temari right behind her, both had lost their geisha yukata and any complicated hairstyles, for simple styles that allowed them free movement.

As they approached the exit fusuma doors they noticed Kakashi peering through a small gap. The other younger geisha were running to the lower levels of the house as instructed by Ino only yesterday in case of an attack.

Sliding the door open Kakashi signalled for the woman to follow him. She knew where they were going; they were going to find an early grave.

Slipping through the door, Ino at her side and Temari slightly behind, they followed the silver haired nin into alleyways that seemed to lead directly to the Uchiha household. Now why would they be going there?

Kakashi threw three kunai to his right as enemy nins approached them, hitting each square in the head. Without sticking around to watch the lifeless bodies fall to the ground, the group moved on pushing through the centre of the town right to the other end. On approaching the gates that Sakura knew all too well led to the home of the Uchiha genius, they weren't surprised to already find the man in question engaged in a battle with another three enemy nins.

Without much effort the onyx eyed man jumped into the air as the three lunged at him, rounding a kick onto one who fell back and slammed into the gate at full force knocking him unconscious. Using the attack Sasuke changed direction mid air and taking out a kunai landed behind the second nin and sliced his throat open.

Neither of the woman looked away, too used to the sight they had seen all to many times, Sakura included. How many times had she seen attacks on the older Uchiha's household? How many times had she watched with fear filled eyes as blood was smeared upon her from an attack of a nin protecting her prison? Too many to count.

This time though, she wasn't afraid.

A smirk fell on the lips of the rose haired woman as she found a team of eight enemy nin's approaching on their location. Her eyes tore away from the Uchiha genius as he indulged in a jutsu fight with the remaining nin, her gaze landed and locked onto the approaching enemy instead.

Ino and Temari disappearing from her sides to attack the enemy behind her leaving only her and now Sasuke with open hands. Kakashi had departed at Ino's request to protect the geisha house and leaving her life in Sasuke's hands.

Or so he thought.

Taking out a kunai from her pouch she spun it on her finger expertly, a glint of pure malice in her forest green eyes. She side glanced at Sasuke who's own smirk was illuminated by the uncovered moonlight.

This was something both had been waiting for, both were itching to fight and Sakura was itching to prove herself. Kakashi may not have been here, but Sasuke was just as good if not better.

Two enemy nins lunged at the rose haired woman, one throwing a kunai aimed at her head. Without much thought, purely instinct the woman grabbed it in her hand twirling it her fingers and ready to attack. Dropping centimetres away she held both kunai attacks with two of her own. Shoving the men away she jumped behind one slamming both kunais into each of the man's kidneys and slipping away just before the dead man could crush her with his lifeless body weight.

Her smirk only widened as she saw from the corner of her eyes the onyx eyed man slamming another enemy into the dirt, his gaze met hers for a mere second before both returned to their fights.

Crouching down Sakura rounded a kick tripping the other and a new enemy nin before lunging into the air, taking out another two kunai from her pouch and directly throwing both into their jugulars.

"Sakura!" Her celebration in her head ended faster then they had begun, she looked down at Sasuke as she began falling back the ground. "Behind you!"

With not enough time to turn around a kunai was digging into her throat, narrowing her eyes she elbowed the nin in the stomach knocking the kunai from his hand by the force then mid air she twisted around and rounded a kick directly into his side feeling some ribs break as he flew from her.

Landing smoothly she smirked at Sasuke who smirked right back before rounding a fist to an approaching nins head.

They were on the same page now. She could stand her ground, not as well as him, but she was catching up. Her monstrous strength was also his doing, he had unlocked that part of her skill that was somewhere deep inside her and now she possessed something that was above him, something she did better, and that made her feel alive for the first time in so long.

"Come on." Sasuke was at her side in moment, Ino and Temari behind, both were covered in dirt and blood but like true ninja they put their geisha sides aside and concentrated on the task at hand. To protect their homes, lives, themselves and each other.

They rushed over the dead bodies of the enemies they had slaughtered. All those still alive would be interrogated later. Following Sasuke's lead they jumped onto the roof tops, jumping from one orange tiled rooftop to the next moving to the side of the town where she knew the hokage resided in.

There was a mass of enemy nin in that one area as well as a mass of leaf nin's pushing them back. Sasuke and her two friends jumped straight into the fighting mass, imputing their own into the battle. But something had caught the emerald gaze of the rose haired woman that made her stop dead in her tracks on the edge of the rooftop and stare. To not follow those she felt close to now, to not defend what she called home.

Deep scarlet orbs gazed right back, the commas she knew all too well, spinning in them and locking onto her form.


	8. Crimson Scar

**Pink Thread of Silk**

**Chapter 8: Crimson Scar**

_What is he doing here?_

_What does he want with me?_

_Does he want to take me back?_

_I can't do that…_

… _I can't go back…_

…_I'll die…_

…_But I'm not ready…_

…_help me…_

"_Help me."_ He heard those words in his head like they were screamed in his ear, though he had no clue where they were coming from. For a moment he thought he had imagined it, but his conscience was telling him another story. Sasuke's onyx eyes gazed around at the hordes of fighting nins surrounding him. Knocking his opponent unconscious by a vicious jab to the head using his elbow, Sasuke counted heads.

"Ino…" He muttered slamming his foot into another opponent's stomach before ending the man's life with two kunai to the head. "…Temari…" He noted the blonde slicing a man's head off his shoulder using her vicious wind fan. Onyx eyes widened when he found a certain bubblegum haired woman missing from his count. "Sakura?" He called out, his fist colliding with an enemy face knocking the man clear off his feet.

He didn't know why, but he panicked. Orbs sifted through the number of nins around him, the amount diminishing in the seconds with more dead or unconscious nin's falling to the ground.

"Sakura!" He called out, his muscles were tense. She couldn't be dead… she just could be, not yet, she could defend herself well, she could protect herself… he was suppose to protect her! Kakashi had ordered him to! …no, he had ordered himself to!

_So where is she?_

"Sakura?!" His head snapped to his side where the blonde woman he had despised over the years was staring up at the building they had jumped off of on their way to the fight, shouting her name. His own orbs followed her gaze and widened further as the woman he was searching for stood, almost in a daze, her whole body swayed dangerously close to the edge. "Wake up!"

"Sakura!" He called out, but their voices weren't reaching her ears. Now Sasuke was truly worried, her eyes were dim and dull, almost… _empty._ He tried jumping on a lower roof to jump onto the one she stood on, but an enemy arm slipped around his neck cutting off his air supply. Onyx orbs narrowed as he slammed the back of his foot into the mans knees, knocking him back and off balance before throwing two shuriken which landed in his chest and sliced open his lungs.

He turned back and watched as the woman swayed further, her orbs fixed on one place, one location. Once again he found himself following the path of a gaze, this time, wishing he hadn't.

Blood red met same blood red eyes, one set narrowed, the other seemed amused. Sasuke's hand unconsciously slipped into his pouch grabbing hold of a kunai, but he didn't get the time to use it.

"SAKURA!" Ino screamed as Sasuke's orbs broke away from the orbs of the one man he hated more than himself. He acted faster then his brain could process what was going on, his soul, his heart moving his limbs forward. His eyes didn't see the battle around him anymore, he didn't see the blonde woman's tears as she watched, he didn't see the smirk on a certain Uchiha's lips. How could he? His eyes were purely on her, her form, her slender womanly form falling from the rooftop. Her normally sparkling emerald orbs were dull and empty, her skin pale and everything that Sasuke knew about her, everything he liked about her… was gone.

A figure blocked his path, blocked her from his view, blocked her from him. Without a moments thought the kunai he had readied for his brother was drilling a hole in the enemies head, the Uchiha slipped over his body, all his muscles working double time and burning from over excursion.

Onyx orbs closed as Sasuke fell to his knees skidding on the dirt, arms wide and praying, praying that he would make it in time. Praying that he wasn't too late, praying that for once, he was able to save someone apart from himself.

He felt the weight, he felt her weight in his arms, he felt her form sink into his, he felt the tear that rolled down his face, he saw the tear that dripped from his cheek onto hers.

"Sakura!" Ino's orbs were filled with tears as she rushed to her side, in the arms of Uchiha Sasuke, the man she wouldn't have once thought of being able to do this for someone else. She found her in the arms of a monster. "Sasuke!"

He didn't respond, he didn't seem to have heard her at all. Sasuke's orbs were fixed on the closed ones of the cherry haired girl; she could clearly see the panic and shock in his features.

"Take her and go!" She yelled slamming her fist into an enemy nin that tried to make the raven haired man his next victim. But he still didn't respond, like his ears were blocked and his body was too stiff to move. Taking another kunai out of her pocket whilst blocking an attack from another direction, the blonde threw the kunai at the onyx eyed man slicing lightly through the skin on his left arm.

He blinked, his form ungluing from kneeling in the dirt with his arms wrapped tightly around the form of the unconscious woman.

"I said, TAKE HER AND GO!" She screamed.

But every monster can turn into something beautiful.

Sasuke looked up at the blonde haired woman, completely confused at his current situation. Orbs landing on the emerald eyed woman in his arms, something clicked in his mind as he rose to his feet and began jumping from one low roof to a higher one before retreating from the battle field and into the dark night. He no longer had any consciousness of what was around him. All that mattered to him at that moment was the woman in his arms and only her.

* * *

"Itachi-sama?" Itachi's cold hard crimson orbs didn't leave the spot where his brother had fled with his blossom in his arms. He couldn't quite understand why his avenger had been so emotional to start with but he had a pretty good understanding of what was going on.

Sasuke was his younger brother after all; Itachi knew that if Sakura could plague his mind like she did every night, then she could squeeze into the mind of his only living relative and more importantly his younger brother.

But Itachi wasn't going to let anything happed between them, he would be damned before he would let four years of work go down the drain. He had moulded the bubblegum princess into the perfect woman, one that didn't fight back and did exactly what he told her to do.

She was his and his alone.

"When are you going to kill her?" The voice of the girl standing a few feet away annoyed him more then life itself. He had only taken her on as a toy that he could use to keep his hold on his cherry blossom.

"Soon." Itachi replied but inside laughed at how naïve this girl was. God this bitch was dumb; did she really think that he would want a wench like her when he had a perfect figured cherry blossom at his disposal?

Itachi had felt all the longing looks on his back, he had seen the blush on her face whenever he paid any heed to her, he knew she was running around doing his bidding in the hope that he would become attracted to her. But it was all in a days work to Itachi, why not use another toy to keep his first in line?

Reaching in under his black, red cloud decorated Akatsuki cloak, he grabbed a kunai whirled around on the spot and slashed the young girl's face, not enough to kill her, but to leave a nice reminder of himself that would keep the cherry blossom his.

The girl screamed falling to her knees, hands over her bloodied face as tears fell from her eyes.

"Go find her." Itachi ordered and he turned away from the woman, Kisame at his side watching the scene in silence before disappearing into the night air with his Uchiha companion.

* * *

"Sakura." Sasuke muttered as he tried to shake the rose haired woman awake. He was getting worried that whatever his brother had done to her might have been more then he imagined, worse then what the older Uchiha had put him through.

She was shivering beneath him as he stroked the silky strands of her pale pink hair, his onyx orbs taking her in as if for the first time. A sweat bead rolled from her temple as she whimpered softly, she was having a nightmare.

Sasuke stood and stared. God he was a stupid bastard. He had no clue what to do for her; he had no clue how to make her feel better. All that ever existed in his life was hate, darkness, revenge and himself. He had never tried to care for anyone else, so he had no clue where to start.

Kakashi would be back soon, so would Ino, they'd know how to help her. But they weren't here right now, right now is where she needed something. Sasuke just wasn't quite sure what it was.

He walked over to the fireplace and using a jutsu started it without much thought. She's shivering because she's cold, if she's cold the fire will warm her up. He told himself as he looked back at her desperately.

"Sa-suke." The words tumbled from her lips as her form began to relax. At hearing his name he walked closer to her. Some other words were escaping her perfect lips but he couldn't quite hear them. Leaning down closer, his ears strained to hear the soft mumbled words. "Stay." Was all he heard.

A small hand wound around the arm that supported him on the bed. Onyx eyes met pale emerald as she stared into his soul. He didn't know what to do, if he was lost before he would never be found in the maze that they call a heart.

"Please." She whimpered as a single tear rolled down her face, Sasuke at seeing this instantly reached out a wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. Her small hand covered his as it cupped her cheek. "Stay."

Maybe for tonight he could forget all the hate, darkness and revenge. Maybe just for tonight he could be the Sasuke that should have been had what his brother done not taken place.

As Sakura tugged his arm lightly, he didn't pull away, he didn't run for the hills or give her a glare that would signify she should leave him alone. No. He lay down beside her, letting her scent and her eyes lead him astray, lead him into unknown territory where he had never been before.

Just for tonight he would be Sasuke, not an Uchiha avenger. Just for tonight, he would take care of her, because she needed him. For once, someone needed him and was relying on him to be there. He wouldn't let that slip through his fingers.

* * *

Kakashi skimmed over the report handed to him by the Hokage and frowned. This wasn't right; there was something very off about it.

"You see it too hm?" The blonde sannin commented as she twisted in her chair flicking through numerous reports and papers that were handed to her because of the surprise attack. "This wasn't an attack to take over." She continued as she stamped a few papers and handed them to Shizune her assistant.

Kakashi looked up at the older woman his face void of any emotions but the wheels in his head were turning, taking in all the information and processing it.

"This was an attack to check Konoha's strength and speed." The Hokage continued her face grim and tired. Her eyes landed on Kakashi hard as she spoke the next few words. "The worst is yet to come."

"Who's behind this?" Kakashi asked his eyes skimming over the report again, imprinting the image into his mind to use on a later date.

"We're not sure yet, but we'll find out soon enough, we have enough prisoners to keep Ibiki happy for a very long time." She said, yet there was no humour in her voice, only fatigue. "You and all the other jounin are to stay within village walls and on alert at all time, keep the village going, and if another attack takes place, we'll deal with that when it comes." She continued and gave a true smile at the masked man. "I have faith in all of you."

Kakashi nodded and without another words disappeared from the office and was skimming the roofs to where he knew the onyx eyed genius had been defending the village. When he jumped off the roof beside the town centre clearing his eye widened. There was a sea of the dead; bodies lay in all directions, blood made the stone ground glimmer a sickly crimson.

Pulling his dark eye away from the scenery he took in two women, leaning against a wall not too far away, obviously tired and resting.

"Ino, where's Sasuke and Sakura?" He asked not seeing them in the close vicinity.

"Probably back at the Geisha house, if that Uchiha bastard done his job right." Ino's cerulean orbs narrowed at the thought of her friend not being taken care of in her state.

Temari sat quietly watching the two ninja with half interest.

"Was she hurt?" Kakashi continued, something pulling at his heart strings.

"…You could say that." Ino said slowly. Then continued. "But not physically anyway."

Kakashi's brows furrowed as he took in the statement.

Seeing the older silver haired nin's face Ino continued. "I don't know what happened, but she completely blanked out on the roof and fell, Sasuke caught her right before she hit the ground and then ran back to the Geisha house to keep her safe." Then Ino glared down at the brick lane ground. "Or at least that's what he had better have done."

Kakashi nodded his head, half understanding what the woman was rambling about.

"Are you alright with getting back?" He asked as he already began to move away in the direction of the Geisha house.

"You betcha!" Ino called out getting to her feet, Temari doing the same, before following the silver haired ninja onto the roof tops.

It took less then five minutes to get back, no-one was out and about at this time of night and after what had taken place. But as the three nin's slipped off the roof to land silently in front of the Yamanaka Geisha house, they were surprised to see that someone _had _ventured out, but didn't seem in any fit state.

"Ano," Ino said quietly as she approached the female figure sitting in front of the main entrance. "Are you alright?"

The brunette continued sobbing into her hands, mahogany bangs and shadows covering her face.

Something seemed very off to Kakashi about this girl. He hadn't seen her before and even though he was sure he hadn't seen every civilian in the village he was damn sure he knew all the girls from the drinks he often had with the lecherous Genma and his very intimate details of each of his encounters with them. Including all the women he wanted to take or would never lay his hands on. She wasn't one on any of those lists, though he could be wrong, he hadn't ever paid much attention to it.

Ino put an arm around the girl's shoulders as she willed the girl to look at her.

"What's your name?" The blonde asked as she leaned towards the girl and squeezed her shoulders lightly as a sign of comfort.

The sobbing stopped slightly as the girl began to shiver lightly.

"Mako." She replied in a small hoarse voice.

"Wow, what a pretty name." Ino commented as she pulled back some of the mahogany bangs and slipped them behind the girl's ears. Only then realising what was on her hands from the touch. Cerulean orbs landed on her hands as a sticky crimson glimmered in the moonlight.

Dark orb met both sky blue ones before looking back at the younger girl. Kakashi kneeled down in front of her and lightly wrapped his hands around her wrists.

"Hey, how about you show me your pretty face?" Kakashi said lightly. Now he was definitely on edge.

The girl. Mako, slowly lifted her face from her hands, the tears still refusing to stop as the moonlight fell on the deep gash right across her face. Ino gasped as Kakashi held Mako's hands in his taking in the damage. Whoever had done this knew how to do it without causing any serious damage, but enough to leave a scar to mar the young girl's pretty face.

"Hm, how about we go inside and get you cleaned up?" Kakashi continued with an eye crease at the younger girl who nodded slowly. Ino leading the way Kakashi helped Mako up and led her inside, Temari following at the rear.

Leaving the brunette in Ino's capable hands Kakashi went in search of the cherry blossom that had been haunting his mind and refused to leave however many time he tried to will her to.

Walking silently down the hall, up a stair case and down another corridor, he stopped at the door of the room he knew belonged to Sakura. His hand pulled the fusuma door open as he looked through the gap. With only the light coming from the crackling fire in the fire place he found a sight that shocked him more than any of the events that had happen that day.

The silver haired nin's teeth ground together as he watched in anger as an arm wrapped around the cherry blossom protectively. He couldn't see the man as he was in the shadows, but he didn't need to to know who it was. A sickly feeling fell over him that he had never felt before. Was this jealousy?

He slid the fusuma door shut before his mind could lead his body to any rash actions that he would regret later. Closing his eyes he rested his forehead on the wall beside the door, letting the cool cement calm down his raging emotions. What kind of ninja was he? Emotions aren't for nin's, emotions are for civilians who live a peaceful life and keep the village going. The nin's around them have no right to do the same, they have to concentrate fully on protecting their home and to keep those civilians doing what they are meant to do.

He pushed all that he felt to the back of his mind as he walked down the corridor towards the kitchen where Ino was taking care of the young girls wound. But he heard those words that fell from her lips as he began moving away. It was as if she was right beside him. Those words made his hands clench.

"Stay with me…" She had muttered, his sensitive ears picking up every word. "…Sasuke."


	9. Hated By The Sky

**Pink Thread of Silk**

**Chapter 9: Hated By the Sky**

Onyx orbs stared at the ceiling above him. He had no idea what the hell was wrong with him. He had no idea why he was still here and he had no clue why he hadn't gone after his brother. He had had his chance, Itachi came to him, but he hadn't taken that chance, instead, he went after a woman. Something he had vowed to himself he would never do.

His orbs narrowed as he continued glaring at the ceiling. God he was weak, he had fought so hard to become stronger, but obviously he hadn't worked hard enough. Or maybe he just didn't have a chance; maybe he was destined to be weak.

A small hand slipped onto his chest as a head snuggled into the crook of his neck. Onyx orbs looked down at the woman in his arms. What did she have that made him like this, he knew she was the prefect model for the continuation of his clan, but he hadn't been expecting this when he first thought of his plan. He hadn't expected that she would reach out to him, but what he hadn't expected most, was how much it meant to him that someone had bothered to do that. To reach out to _him_ out of everyone, when she had more reliable people all around her.

Why had she chosen him? Everyone knew Uchiha Sasuke was bad news, everyone knew that he was an avenger of a bloodied clan. Everyone knew, yet she didn't seem to care.

Her pale hand clasped the material of his Uchiha decorated black shirt as she pulled it lightly in her sleep, incoherent words falling from her cherry lips.

Why had his brother come all the way here though? Why had he bothered to come all this way when he could have just as easily sent one of his lackeys to do his bidding? There must be something here that he desperately wants, if it was his life or the life of the cherry blossom in his arms Sasuke wasn't quite sure.

Sasuke closed his eyes as he took in her soft sweet scent and allowed himself to relax for a mere moment. Then looking out of the room window, he found the first few rays of the rising sun escaping the distant landscape.

He placed his larger hand over her smaller one and unhooked her hold on his shirt before placing her head onto the pillow beneath him gently. Sasuke slipped out of the bed and walked over to the fusuma door taking one last glimpse back at the young woman before slipping out into the silent household. He had business to take care of.

* * *

Sakura woke to find the warmth she had so desperately wanted, gone. Her mind raced over the events of the previous day as she began to shiver under the covers of her bed.

"…Sasuke." She whispered remembering his gentle actions the night before. Was that really him? She had expected something like that more of Kakashi then the Uchiha demon, but he had taken care of her hadn't he?

Sakura's emerald orbs widened to the size of saucers before tears overfilled her barriers. Itachi had come back, that was why Sasuke had protected her. Sakura couldn't believe how weak she was, she had frozen when she saw those crimson orbs again, he had demolished everything she had built in the past few weeks.

But he hadn't taken her back, he hadn't gone after her. So why was he here really?

Sakura sat up wrapping the bed covers around her tighter as she shut her eyes trying to forget those orbs staring at her. All her memories were flashing through her mind as she willed them to stop. God! Why did he have this much power over her?!

Sakura threw off the bed covers and slipped off the bed to lean her forehead on the cool glass of the window as she stared out into the peaceful morning. Sakura sighed as she watched the birds fly from tree to tree outside singing softly.

She didn't understand her life, why was she alive? What was the point of her life? She didn't make anyone happy, she didn't help anyone around her, she wasn't loved by anyone and she didn't have enough heart to love anyone in return.

"Sakura?" Ino's voice sounded from behind the fusuma doors.

"Hai?" Sakura muttered as Ino slid the door open and gazed at her with inspecting cerulean orbs. Ino sighed in relief when she didn't see any physical damage on the figure of her rose haired friend.

"How are you feeling?" The blonde asked as she walked in slowly to lean against the wall beside the window and Sakura.

"Like crap, but when is that any different?" Sakura answered in an emotionless voice.

"Whatever happened back there…" When Sakura's head snapped to her friend, Ino raised her hands up in defence and continued. "…You don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to." Sakura nodded slowly, a small smile on her rose lips. Sakura really didn't have the will power to go through what had and has happened to her. "I just hope that you can rely on us enough to know that we will keep you safe no matter what…" Ino continued with a smile of her own. Sakura's smile faded slightly, but held up none the less. "Though I don't see that as such an easy task with that massive forehead being such an easy target." Ino smirked as Sakura frowned.

"Shut it Ino-pig!" Sakura's orbs narrowed but the smile widened anyway.

"Come on, I have a new addition to my large and very colourful family!" Ino said cheerily as she led the cherry haired woman out of her room and down into the kitchen where at the table sat Kakashi, two maiko girls under Ino's training and…

"Mako-chan?!" Sakura's eyes widened as her orbs landed onto the brunette sitting chatting to the silver haired nin who was desperately trying to read his book.

"Sakura-sama!" The young girl grinned as she ran at the rose haired woman and wound her arms around her.

Kakashi's eyes left his book and gazed at the act curiously. So this girl really was here for a reason. Sakura being that reason meant the girl was sent by Itachi.

Sakura was staring down at the girl, her eyes not believing what she was seeing. It wasn't just the fact that she was here that shocked her, though that did play a big part, what had utterly terrified her was the massive slash right across her pretty face.

"What happened to you?" Sakura asked lifting the younger girls chin up. She was only thirteen!

"I fell." She muttered, but Sakura wasn't fooled. Tears welled in the rose haired woman's eyes for the second time that morning.

"I'm so sorry." Sakura mumbled through sobs as she pulled the girl into a desperate hug. "I'm so so sorry!"

To say Kakashi and Ino were surprised was an understatement. Why would Sakura be sorry for something that wasn't her fault? Only Kakashi had put the pieces of the puzzle together, she was indeed a present from a certain Uchiha genius to keep the rose haired woman remembering why she was here.

"It's okay Sakura-sama, it's not your fault." Mako said cheerfully as she wrapped her small hands around Sakura and returned her hug.

"Who the hell is she?" A cold voice spoke from the entrance to the kitchen as six pairs of eyes landed on an Uchiha genius.

Ino laughed nervously. "What do you mean Sasuke-kun? This is Sakura! You know that!" Ino continued to laugh nervously as she tried to hide Mako behind her back and was slowly pushing the girl towards the second entrance to the kitchen that led to the exit of the geisha house.

"Don't play me for an idiot Ino." Sasuke growled as he glared right at the blonde woman. She really knew how to push her luck with him.

"I'm not Sasuke-kun, I really have no clue what your talking ab-" Sasuke with his speed was already behind the blonde haired woman and lifted the younger girl by the material of her yukata.

"Who the hell is she?" He repeated himself, his eyes never even looking at the girl.

Sakura ran at the Uchiha genius and grabbed the arm that held the young girl. "Let her go!"

Sasuke stared down into emerald pits, he didn't like this. He didn't like this one bit. That girl radiated hatred and… _him._

Shoving the girl into Sakura's arms Sasuke glared at them both. "I bloody hope you know what you're doing."

"Don't play me for a fool Sasuke." Sakura replied with a hard gaze as she copied his earlier statement.

"When you give me reason to believe you're not one, I will." Sasuke replied and walked past them before leaving the Geisha house altogether.

"Well he's grouchy in the morning!" Ino said with a sigh as she approached the two girls and wrapped a reassuring hand around the younger one's shoulders. "How about we take a trip to the baths?"

Mako pulled her gaze away from staring at Sakura's hurt filled face, to smile at the blonde haired woman. "Yeah! Sounds great!" She said cheerily before following the blonde towards the stairs and their room. The two maiko girls following with eager faces.

"You coming Sakura?" Ino asked, but only got a shake of the head from the rose haired woman, who still gazed at the spot where the younger Uchiha had left. "Suit yourself."

With that they left, leaving her wondering what the hell she had done wrong.

"Don't worry about him, he gets like that from time to time." Sakura turned to find Kakashi still sitting at the table, his eyes in his favourite perverted book.

Sakura sighed.

"Your not going to tell me what happened yesterday are you?" He continued as Sakura took in a sharp intake of breath her eyes slightly wide, not expecting the comment. "If Itachi was here then don't you think I should know?"

Sakura sat down opposite the silver haired nin and gazed at her hands.

"I was going to tell you, but…" Sakura sighed again. "I guess I'm just weak, anything that remind me of _him_ I run a mile from."

Kakashi put his book down and gazed lightly at the rose haired woman. Her orbs full of sorrow.

"So he was there?" Sakura nodded. "And she was sent by him with a piece of his artwork on her face?" Sakura now close to tears, nodded again. "Don't trust her; there is something very off about her."

Sakura's head snapped up the silver haired nin.

"She's only a kid! She's been abused by Itachi, don't you think we should give her a break?" Sakura almost yelled her anger boiling. It was her fault that Mako-chan had to suffer. If only she had been there to take up all of Itachi's time then Mako wouldn't have had to go through this. She wouldn't have to have that permanent reminder of him on that young face of hers.

"Just because what he done to you broke you apart doesn't mean she would react in the same way." Kakashi continued in a nonchalant voice.

"What the _hell_ would you know about suffering Kakashi?!" Sakura's hand slammed into the table hard almost breaking it in half as she shot up from her seat, her eyes filled with rage. "What the hell would you know about what I've been through and what Mako-chan has been through?!"

"You'd be surprised what I know about both." Kakashi replied calmly.

"You know jack SHIT about me and my life so keep the HELL out coz your better off there!" Sakura screamed storming out of the geisha house, the cold wind hitting her hard as she ran down an alley, not really sure of where she was going.

What gave him the right to judge her and Mako? He didn't know what it was like to be cut open everyday by slicing words, be raped to the extent that you hated being human because he could do that to you. To be tortured so bad you wouldn't be able to look at yourself in the mirror before breaking down.

He knew nothing about that, yet he still acted as if he knew everything! What the hell gave him the right?! NOTHING!

NOTHING!

_NOTHING!_

Sakura fell to her knees in the middle of the alley. Then why did he bother to make her feel like crap. It was her fault that she was in the state that she was in and it was her fault that Mako-chan had followed her on her path.

Getting up she ran, she needed to get away from everyone. This place was suffocating her. She couldn't stand being here if her past and future were crashing down on her. Maybe if she just disappeared then Kakashi and Ino could go back to their normal lives and forget about her, then they could be happy. Mako-chan could find a life here too! And Sasuke…

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks as the face of the brooding Uchiha filled her mind. Whatever she felt for him he could definitely deal without, he would be happier that way because where ever she went death and destruction followed. Death being Itachi, destruction being Kisame.

She walked on, her feet crossing the line on the ground that told her she had left the borders of the city. She jumped into the trees, skipping from one branch to the next putting as much distance between herself and the town as she possibly could. Between herself and them. Between herself and _him_.

If she's not there then none of them can get hurt and all of them can be happy in whatever life they choose to live.

* * *

God he was an idiot. Why the hell was he so rough with her, she was only being kind to the kid just like she had been kind to him. It was her nature, she was just like that, yet he called her a fool for it. She wasn't a fool, he was the fool, he was the fool that couldn't get over himself to see anyone else.

He slammed his fist into the wooden block he was practicing his taijutsu on. He closed his eyes in frustration as he rested his forehead on the wooden block.

He had to apologise, but he didn't have the first idea at how to do it. He hadn't apologised to anyone in his life apart from his parents. He apologised to them all the time, that he wasn't strong enough to stop the massacre that took them from him. But apart from that, he hadn't given an apology for anything he did, everything he did he didn't feel remotely sorry for.

But this…

Sasuke slammed his fist into the wooden block again.

But this was his fault and he had to sort it out because she didn't deserve to be put down, knowing that that was all that Itachi ever offered her when she was with him. He wasn't going to be like his brother. Sasuke wasn't a monster, he was man that wanted revenge and would do practically anything for power. But he wasn't going to walk over a broken person, and he definitely wasn't going to help in his brother's handiwork.

He kicked off the ground and landed on a tree branch not far away before performing a few seals and disappearing in a glimmer of a shadow. He reappeared in front of the Yamanaka Geisha house but was surprised to find how quite it was when he got inside. Slipping off his sandals he walked to the kitchen, finding only his silver haired sensei leaning against a wall reading his porn.

"Where's everyone?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly as he walked towards the man, stopping a few meters away.

"Ino took the younger girls to the bath house." Kakashi replied without looking up from his book.

"And Sakura?" Sasuke asked again getting annoyed at the fact that the silver haired nin knew that Sasuke wouldn't be looking for Ino.

"She ran off." Kakashi replied in the same tone of voice.

"Why? Where?" This took Sasuke by surprise. If Sakura had run off, shouldn't Kakashi go after her? He was supposed to be her main protector, though Sasuke would make sure he himself was a better one.

"Got angry, don't know." Kakashi replied flicking a page in his book.

"Then why didn't you go after her?" Sasuke was starting to get pissed. Something about the silver haired nin was off, he didn't usually act like this, he was never so uncaring, even though he did try to hide the fact that he did actually care.

"Didn't think it was my business to, after all you're the one she relies on." Kakashi replied, his gaze never leaving the pages of his book.

Sasuke was taken aback. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Your screwing her aren't you?" Kakashi continued, his dark orb finally leaving his book to land on Sasuke who just stared blankly right back.

"No." Sasuke replied.

"But you want to."

"What the hell are you getting at?"

Kakashi shrugged returning back to his book. Thunder rumbled outside as lightning flashed only moment later. The sun he had seen that morning had long since been covered by thick grey clouds.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Sasuke growled taking a step towards his former sensei.

"Nothing." Kakashi replied calmly.

Sasuke watched the silver haired man. Before it clicked in his head.

"You're not jealous are you?" Sasuke asked almost laughing at the thought. There was no way, as long as he had known him which was practically all his life, Kakashi had always been a strict rule keeper and only had woman for a one night stand basis. He was never keen on a relationship because it would drag him down in his duty.

But before Sasuke could go deeper into his thoughts, a hand was around his throat and held him against the wall cutting off his air supply.

"If you know what's good for you you'll leave her alone. She's Itachi's property and he will not be happy if someone, especially you, taints his masterpiece."

Sasuke didn't struggle against the choking hold. He knew Kakashi would never kill him, there was too much past between them and Kakashi often treated Sasuke like his younger brother. They were too similar in so many ways and everyone seemed to notice and comment on it, which meant that they thought alike as well. What really plagued Sasuke's mind though, was what was making his former sensei act like this? He had never lifted a hand to him unless it was in sparring or training.

Kakashi let go before grabbing the book he had dropped on the table and walking out of the kitchen then disappearing into the house.

Sasuke stood glaring at the door he had left through. Whatever his problem was, Sasuke didn't have time to find possible causes, a storm was coming on and if Sakura was out there, then it was dangerous for her.

Grabbing his coat from his room he left the geisha house in search of the kunoichi. To hell with Itachi. Sasuke was going to find her even if hell comes calling.

* * *

Rain hammered down on the petit form of the bubblegum haired girl who leaned over a tree root, everything she had eaten the day before lay in a heap before her as she retched. Her stomach didn't feel good, Sakura guessed she still hadn't gotten over that bug she caught when she was training with Sasuke.

Sakura rushed to the stream a few feet away, cupping some water in her hands before rinsing her mouth to get rid of the horrid taste.

"Why me?" Sakura asked after spitting out, sitting back against a rock and looking up at the sky, rain droplets decorating her pale face before running off her cheeks, hair and chin. Sakura guessed that she was about an hour away from the village, but the storm that had surrounded her had taken her by surprise.

She had left everything behind, all her clothes, private possessions, though she didn't have many. She hadn't brought food which her stomach made her very aware of as its grumbles were hidden by the thunder rumbling above her.

If she continued the way she was then she wouldn't get very far without getting more sick then she already was, and with no one to look after her, she would become the next pray of the first carnivore that came her way.

"Doing spur of the moment things like this really is a bad idea, you _baka!_" Sakura muttered to herself getting to her feet slowly, swaying slightly she took a step forward. Her vision was getting blurry and Sakura knew that she had to find some shelter before she fainted all together.

Jumping into the closest tree she set on her way, praying inside her head that some luck would strike her at least once in a while. That someone in the sky would for once take pity on her and offer her a life line.

She stumbled, her foot catching the odd limb of the tree as her eyes fell closed and her body fell limp to the ground beneath her. Someone really did hate her with a passion.

Shivering she tried to open her eyes but her body refused to listen to anything her mind was trying to get it to do. Her limbs felt numb as she desperately tried to stay awake, but the darkness that had already devoured her body was now attacking her mind.

She didn't want to give in though; she didn't want to be weak again. She was on her own now, she had to take care of herself and this was definitely not a way to do that. She couldn't just give up at the first hurdle of the many that she was sure were going to be chucked at her by the people that hate her in the sky.

Just as her inner mind began to panic she felt herself being lifted, she couldn't see, she couldn't hear nor could she feel more then the sensation of being carried. But whatever was going on around her, something inside her mind made her relax, like whatever or whoever this was was on her side.

Whatever side she was on.

Using her last bit of strength she peered through the tiny gap between her eyelashes at the blurry image of a male figure, dark hair and pale skin.

"Sa-Sa-su…ke?" She tried to ask, but her word only came out as a rumble of her throat.

The darkness finally took over her mind as well, but she felt calm, knowing that whatever lay ahead, she would deal with as soon as her monstrous strength returned.


	10. It Begins

**Pink Thread of Silk**

**Chapter 10: It Begins **

Two crimson orbs darted from one piece of shrubbery to another, looking for any sign of what he was looking for, for any sign of _her._ But there was nothing, either she was very good at hiding her tracks or Sasuke was loosing his touch.

He slipped from tree to tree his sharingan doing overtime in trying to find anything that would lead him to her. Any sort of jutsu that may show him how to get to her. If she was in trouble then it would be his fault, he would for once feel guilty and he could already feel it pulling at his heart strings.

She gave him a chance yet he couldn't do anything for her, he could just be himself. Like he was, he will be now and for always. The way he is is all that he knows. All that he was ever worth was nothing, so why would that change so suddenly?

The answer is:

_It wouldn't_

He was worth nothing and everyone around him knew that. He had no meaning to life other then hatred, pain, suffering and revenge. What kind of man was he if he couldn't get over himself to see another human being? A lousy, self centred bastard that didn't deserve to be alive, that should have died with the rest of his family at his brothers hands instead of running around on the earth with no destiny, no fate other then to kill or be killed.

So he was going to find her, she didn't share his non-existent destiny, she deserved more then what life had thrown at her. She deserved peace and happiness because that was all that she tried to offer him through her understanding. She was his last mission before he died, he was sure to die soon, his power hungry phase would be the end of him, as his brother will be. So maybe if he could set her straight on her path, maybe his life would have had some sort of meaning, some sort of purpose.

He would find her even if it damned him to hell.

The corner of Sasuke's lip rose slightly in a sad smirk. He was already damned to hell. If he liked it or not, he would end up there, his brother would be sure to guide him there. But that was his mission, this is his life. Even if he had to give his life and his after life for the sake of the death of his brother, he would do it.

But she didn't have to. She was pure and he was tainted.

Sasuke wondered if there was more to life that what he had witnessed, that there must be a much higher high than what he had seen, what he probably would never get the chance to see. Maybe if he was lucky, someday in their next life she would save him. She would show him everything he brother had clouded over with hate.

That would be then though, this is now.

He skimmed through the shrubbery, his eyes staring straight in front of him. His mind cleared as he abandoned his thoughts completely.

"Yo mutt!"

Sasuke hearing the voice jumped onto the closest branch, he halted then spun on one foot to face the canine watching him from the branch he had just past.

"What are you doing here Pakkun?" Sasuke asked a little impatiently as he turned ready to follow the path he had set.

"If your looking for that girl everyone seems to be so obsessed about lately, your about 90 degrees off course." The dog said lazily as he scratched that annoying itch behind his ear.

"Why are you here Pakkun?" Sasuke asked again through gritted teeth. He and the mutt had never gotten along; he had always merely followed him for Kakashi's sake as it was his orders. Sasuke would never hope to be left alone with the canine though.

"Kakashi sent me to help you out; he seemed to know that you'd need it." Pakkun answered putting his paw down again and gazing droopily at the Uchiha nin. Rain falling onto the ruffled fur on his head and back.

"I don't need your help." Sasuke barked, twisting on the spot and setting off on a new course.

"I think I'll disagree with that, but just for reputations sake, your not following me, I'm just tagging along with a few pointed hints at what direction should be taken." The mutt replied with another lazy droop of the eyes as he skimmed from one branch to the next alongside the brooding nin.

Sasuke thinking it over seemed to accept the offer. Whatever helped him find the cherry blossom faster was a god send. The faster he found her, the faster he would kill his brother and the faster he would be put to rest.

"Just imagine me as that annoying granny who always thinks she's right and sometimes is but you would rather be slaughtered then admit that she was." Pakkun finished with a small chuckle at the memory popping into his head.

"Trust me, it doesn't take much imagination." Sasuke replied as he sped up, the dog right on his heel.

* * *

Eyes burning, head hammering, sides hurting, legs numb and just in general pain, Sakura groaned out loud, dragging her hand to cover her eyed from the light. The source of which was still unknown to her.

Her heart thudded under her ribs as thunder rumbled above wherever she was. Slowly peeking through the gap in her curtain of lashes, she registered a blurry image of what looked to her like a hut. The source of light being the fireplace lit in the centre of the far wall. All four of the corners of the room were covered in shadow and she couldn't make out anyone though she could feel their presence.

The movement in one of the shadow covered corners stopped her movement completely. Yawning loudly and slipping onto her side, with a hiss of pain, Sakura tried to pretend that she hadn't left the land of nod quite just yet. Hoping she would give herself extra time to figure out the situating and analyse a plan to get her out of here.

"I know you're awake." A male voice called to her from where she had seen and felt the movement. Sakura's eyes shut tightly as she cursed at herself for not being future sighted enough to fool the man that had saved her life.

"Who are you?" Sakura coughed stopping the sleeping act as she realised the man wasn't just ordinary, he was a fellow nin, which meant he wouldn't be tricked by her minor detours and games. The chakra flow that she had be taught to sense was evidence enough of that.

"Shouldn't I be asking that question? After all I went out of my way to save a stranger." The man answered, stepping slightly into the light coming from the fire place. She could make out his shoes and pants now. Nothing special about them, normal blank sandal clad feet, and jounin pant clad legs.

Sakura also seemed to find the voice familiar. It was very masculine and held an edge that she would think was quite unique. Though she still couldn't figure out where she had heard it before.

"How do I know you're not an enemy spy?" Sakura asked cautiously as she sat up, her eyes straining to pick out the slightest feature from the lack of light on the mans face.

"You don't." He replied in a nonchalant voice.

God he was starting to piss Sakura off. When she asked questions she expected them to be answered. Living with Uchiha Itachi for the years that she had had taught her to think in that manner. Everyone answered whatever she wanted to know to please her. They didn't want to get on their masters, mistresses bad side.

"Then I can't trust you with that kind of information." Sakura replied, her features held in a scowl as she glared up at the man she couldn't make out.

"Then I would kindly ask you to leave as I don't see why I should trust you either."

Sakura's glare turned deadly as she thought about what he had said. If she left now she would once again be caught in the storm that was still raging on outside and suffer the same fate that she had already fallen trapped to. And there were only so many times that a girl could be saved in the middle of nowhere on a stormy night.

"My name is Haruno Sakura." Sakura muttered through gritted teeth as the man standing not so far from her chuckled.

"What village are you from?" He asked as he stopped his amused laughter.

"Konoha." She replied, noticing the fact that she indeed had no sign or proof of anything that she was saying. She could be telling him a pack of lies and he would have to believe her.

"Why were you in the woods at a time like this?"

"I was upset about my boyfriend." Sakura replied, putting her lie theory into practice.

"Don't lie to me." The man replied, Sakura's eyes fell wide. How did he know?! "There is a slightly difference in your tone of voice when you lie, so don't bother, I can tell."

Sakura's hands clenched together as she tried to hold back her anger and embarrassment.

"Now answer my question."

"I was running away." Sakura replied. "Why don't you answer some of mine now, and how about coming into the light where I can see you?"

The light chuckle was back, but the man seemed to comply with her request. Walking over to her, his chest came into view, simple jounin attire there too, but what had caught her off guard was the Konoha headband that was tied around his neck.

"You're from Konoha?" She asked dazed, her emerald orbs fixed on the piece of metal hung around his neck.

"Yes," He said. "My name is Sai; I'm a member of a special Anbu squad led by the hokage herself."

Emerald met onyx.

"Oh shit." The foul language fell from her lips before she could even acknowledge that she was thinking it.

Ignoring the words of the kunoichi, Sai sat down beside her and wanted the questions that had filled his mind over the time that she was asleep answered.

"You know Uchiha Sasuke?" He asked as Sakura seemed to snap out of her daze by the name that slipped out of his lips.

She thought slowly about the benefits and consequences of telling the truth, then remembered that even if she wanted to lie he would know that she was doing it, so decided to tell the truth. Nodding slowly she watched his reaction and was relieved to find that there wasn't much of one.

"How do you know him?" He asked again, absorbing everything that she was telling him. Even though he already had his suspicions from what she had been calling out in her sleep.

"He's protecting me whilst I am a guest in Konoha, alongside Hatake Kakashi." Sakura replied watching once again for a reaction that she didn't receive.

"What village are you from originally and what is your purpose in Konoha?"

"I don't see why any of this is relevant to you, what I do is my business and not yours." Sakura replied frowning at the man that looked so much alike to the man that he had been asking her about.

"I'm only trying to understand your situation and determine whether you're a danger to Konoha or not." Sai replied with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

Sakura snorted. "How could you think a little geisha girl like me could be a danger to a fly let alone a whole village filled with nin's and a Hokage with superhuman strength?"

"With names such as Uchiha Itachi spewing from your mouth whilst you're sleeping, are you surprised?"

Sakura's eyes widened, what else had she said in her sleep?!

"After meeting someone like him are _you_ surprised I'm having nightmares?" Sakura muttered trying to hide the real truth by a partial one.

"When and where did you meet him?" Sakura growled in frustration. She had had enough with the questions; she wasn't going to delve into her past for a stranger when she couldn't even tell it to the people that she trusted.

"I'm not going to cause any harm to the village because I'm running away from it, leave me in peace and we'll both be happier for it." Sakura said, slipping off the covers that Sai had obviously covered her with; she got up slowly, swaying slightly, her body adjusting before heading for the door of the small cabin.

"Wait," He was fast to say the least, he was very fast. She had only seen Itachi and Sasuke reach those kinds of speeds before so she was stunned when the face that resembled the man that she was running away from so much, appeared directly in front of hers. "You can't go."

* * *

Kakashi stared up at the ceiling, was he an idiot or what?! He just blew up right in front of Sasuke, if his feelings weren't obvious before then they definitely were now. He sat up abruptly, slipping his hand through his hair then down his face.

Itachi was probably watching everything, he had to be. Kakashi knew that he didn't trust him nor did he trust Orochimaru. Speaking of which, he was out there somewhere too, biding his time and planning something.

Why did he have such a bad feeling about what was going on around him? Hadn't he always promised himself that after what he had been through, the childhood he had endured, the adolescence he had survived and the adulthood that still haunted him, he would go in search of peace? If that was the last thing he did, he would find peace in the world, he would find peace in himself and in the one he may once love.

Why was everything turning in on him then?

Sakura didn't love him back, Kakashi could see in her eyes that she saw him as merely a protector; maybe he would be bold enough to say that she saw him as a friend. Why would she see an old man like himself as anything else?

Hadn't he promised himself that after Rin and Obito he wouldn't let any one of his friends suffer?

Then why was she suffering? Why was Sasuke suffering? Why did such hatred grow inside him towards the younger Uchiha? Why couldn't he do anything to help those he loved? He was going to loose them, he knew it; he had a bad feeling that wouldn't let him go.

Kakashi's hands clenched into fists as his eyes shut tightly. Why was pain the feeling that he knew best, why had destiny led him to this?

Until Uchiha Itachi died, until Akatsuki were dead, until Orochimaru was dead, he knew that pain was all that he would ever feel. She might be pure, she might be innocent, she might be beautiful. But her experiences were tainting each aspect. Just as they had done to him.

If things remained as they were, she would die. Sasuke would die. Itachi would die. Orochimaru would die. He would be left alive, just like before, he would be the one to remain standing and suffer another loss.

He could feel it pulling at his heart.

Kakashi stood; he was feeling damp and hot. His temperature was not normal and he could feel his skin burning as he slipped his jounin shirt over his head and threw it to the side of the room, forgotten. Resting his folded, bare arms on the window sill of the room, he let his ink black eye stare out at the village he called home.

Would Konoha remain the same if what he was feeling happened? Would it move on like it always did?

Obviously.

Time didn't stop for anyone, and even without both Uchiha's, without Sakura, they would move on, happier that two great enemies were dead.

But what would he do?

Would he be able to move on too?

The image of the rose haired woman filled his mind as did the brooding Uchiha. Would he be able to get over loosing another companion, another _friend_?

Kakashi's thoughts halted as he caught sight of something he hadn't been expecting to see. Mako stood in the shadows of a building in front of the Geisha house, she was moving silently but swiftly. From where he was Kakashi couldn't quite make out her facial features, but something wasn't right.

Grabbing his shirt back and pulling it over his head, he swung the window open and slipped out. Landing silently on the opposite rooftop, he watched as she made her winding way through the narrow alleyways of Konoha.

Following her, hiding his scent and presence as best he could, he tried to find a reason for the girl slipping out at this time of night. It was almost midnight, but she seemed to be out like it was natural for her. No kid would be out at this time.

Mako slipped out of the shadows of the buildings and jumped into the shadows of the outer Konoha protecting wall. Kakashi at a small distance behind her followed. She slipped into the trees of the surrounding forest, her stance was obviously trained. This was no ordinary kid and Kakashi was starting to understand that his bad feeling about the girl was right.

She wasn't to be trusted. But he had to have proof, he had to catch her in the act, if he took her back now she would bat her eyelashes at his friends and he was sure that Sakura would believe any lie that came from her mouth.

Deja vu caught him as he slipped through the trees, he had been here before, he had been here before at night. And as Mako stopped in a wide clearing, he understood exactly when and why he had been here before. But what convinced him even more was the figure that stepped out of the shadow of the tree directly opposite of the tree the silver haired nin was occupying.

"Orochimaru." Kakashi hissed quietly as his ink orb narrowed.

Mako walked slowly over to the snake sannin, he seemed amused, happy and more devil-like then he had ever seen him before. With the rain falling hard on everything around them as well as themselves, their voices were drowned out of his hearing. As was his smell and presence from them.

The young girl handed the sannin something that Kakashi couldn't make out, leaning closer he tried to make out what exactly Mako was doing with him. If she had been sent by Itachi, why would she still be on his side after what he had put her through? Why hadn't she turned on him like Sakura had?

Was she that naive?

"Kakashi, eavesdropping isn't polite." Kakashi stopped dead in his tracks as Orochimaru's piercing stare fell on him. Well he hadn't been expecting to be found out so easily, but he _was_ expecting to be found out.

Mako looked shocked and scared as Kakashi slipped from the tree and landed a few meters away from her and Orochimaru.

"I guess I was right about her then." Kakashi commented without giving Mako even a look.

Orochimaru chuckled.

"Sometimes you should ignore your instincts; you might have had a chance at staying alive then." Orochimaru replied with an amused tone.

"Oh really? Well I hope my chances are a lot higher then what you're predicting." Kakashi said, he eyes taking in his surrounding and possible fighting plan.

"I can't let you live when you no about our Mako-chan," Orochimaru's voice was amused again as he dragged out the suffix of the young girls name. "Besides, I wanted a reason to kill you long ago Hatake, I'm glad I've finally got one."

Mako stood frozen, watching the two older nin's stare at each other. She watched as both tensed. She watched as both grabbed kunais. She watched as both of them set off…

* * *

"You can't go." Sai said as he stared into emerald orbs.

"Why? I have a right to leave whenever I want; besides, you wanted me to leave before!" Sakura snapped.

"You have a high fever, if you leave now you could die of hypothermia out there." Sai said a-matter-of-factly. Sakura scowled up at the taller nin. He was right, but as hell she was going to admit that.

But she didn't have to. Her body done that for her. She suddenly felt light headed and her body felt so heavy. Sai watched as the shining emerald orbs dulled and half lidded before her body fell weak. He caught her before she managed to fall to the floor unconscious.

* * *

Sasuke stopped at the edge of a clearing about three hours away from the village. Sakura must have had some sort of help because he was damned sure that with what she had she couldn't have lasted this long in the storm.

He took a step forward towards the cabin that stood before him.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Pakkun commented as he flopped his bum on the ground beside Sasuke's leg.

"Go away." Sasuke commanded as he glared down at the canine who only droopy eyed right back.

"Are you sure?" Pakkun asked after a moment's silence.

"You've done your job, now go away." Sasuke said again, lifting his gaze from the dog, back to the hut.

"Ungrateful brat." Pakkun muttered before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke walked up to the cabin only to feel not only her presence, but the presence of someone else. Someone that he knew and didn't like. Silently moving to one of two windows, his sharingan back in the pits of his eyes, he stared into the darkness.

Crimson orbs locked onto a male figure kneeling over a sleeping matt directly in front of the fireplace that gave off the only light.

He recognised him instantly.

"Sai." Sasuke hissed as his fists clenched. _What the hell was that bastard doing here?! _He thought as he glared at the nin. Sai and Sasuke never got on, they had lived a life of rivalry, Sai never being far behind from the Uchiha prodigy. Since their childhood, since before the slaughter of the Uchiha clan by his brother, they had always hated each other.

They had been raised to hate each other.

They liked to hate each other as it was some way of releasing their anger and not hurting anyone around them. But Sasuke's hate had left the onyx eyed nin when his brother took priority. They still disliked each other though.

But nothing in both of their lives made Sasuke hate him more then what he was seeing right now. In the raven haired nin's arms was the cherry blossom, in the arms of the man that he hated, was Sakura.

"Makes you sick doesn't it?" Sasuke spun around, his sharingan circling violently trying to lock onto the owner of the voice. He knew that voice more then he knew his own name. He knew that voice more then he knew his own existence. "Why won't you let your hatred flow?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, his sharingan working three times harder then it would ordinarily.

"Why won't you hate him enough to kill him?" Sasuke turned to the side as the voice suddenly changed direction. "Why won't you hate me enough to kill me?" Sasuke turned again as the voice changed direction again.

"Get out here you bastard!" Sasuke yelled.

"Why don't you hate me enough?" A hand wrapped around Sasuke's throat and pressed him against a solid chest, holding him tightly so all his struggling fell futile. He felt the air of the breath of the one man he hated more. "Little brother…"


	11. Mako's Love

**Heya people! laughs nervously Sorry it's taken so long, and this time it really _has _taken long... SO SO SORRY! ducks from the knife thrown at her head**

**I won't bother making excuses coz there's too many and I'm sure you guys don't really care...**

**So once again -Gomen!- **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own naruto and his merry men/women, wish i did, but no... it still hasn't happened.**

**Someone is going to die in this chap... but who? **

**Dun dun duuuuuuun!**

**ENJOY!

* * *

**

**Pink Thread of Silk**

**Chapter 11: Mako's Love**

"Why don't you hate me enough? Little brother…" Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the realisation that he had been had. All these years of constant training repaying him with failure, he was at his brother's mercy… again.

Sasuke was about to begin a one handed seal, he would try anything he could to get back on even ground; get some space between them so he could be at the advantage. But before he had managed to form a single seal, the hand holding his neck had released him, it was then replaced by his brothers other hand as it swung full force, hitting a certain sensitive spot.

Everything went dark, his limbs felt heavy and he no longer possessed the energy to open his eyes let along to keep himself up. His mind went blank as his body sank into the moss bedded ground.

The last thought that flashed in his mind was the same image that had flashed in his mind the very night all this started. Itachi.

* * *

Sai's eyes narrowed at the sight before him.

"…Sasuke?" He called out into the chilly night air.

Sai had heard Sasuke's voice as he shouted at someone. He had rushed out to see what was happening, but found Sasuke on the ground.

"Baka." Sai hissed at the unconscious nin as he forced himself to move into the shadows where he had some form of cover. He moved slowly to what seemed to be Uchiha Sasuke's unmoving body.

Reaching his side, he kneeled beside him and took his arm in his hands checking for a pulse. It was there and it was strong.

"What are you doing here?" Sai muttered another silent comment, he almost expected a reply.

Which he got…

…just not from the right Uchiha.

* * *

Kakashi threw a set of kunai in the direction he had sensed Orochimaru's chakra pattern mere seconds before. Instincts were what were keeping him alive. He had no time to think.

Doing a back flip in mid air Kakashi barely managed to dodge the snake that had escaped from Orochimaru's arm.

Why did this always happen to him? Why couldn't he live a normal life that lead to none of what he was experiencing now…

…no, not a normal life, he would have grown bored of that quite quickly. Kakashi after all wasn't the kind of man that stood still, in the same spot for great lengths of time. However much others thought that he would most enjoy to have a carefree life with his books, that wasn't what Kakashi wanted. He had never wanted that.

He hadn't ever even attempted to think of that…

He needed something in his life to keep him going, he need his job, he needed to be a ninja to feel like his life had meaning. He needed someone too…

Thought he didn't know who that someone was.

He knew who he wanted that someone to be, but that didn't mean that someone was who he was going to get.

Whatever Kakashi wanted from life, he was damn sure that he hadn't wanted to be here, now.

Quickly doing a few hand seals Kakashi raised his hand to his mouth and blew fire in the direction Orochimaru had sent another one of his snake minions at him.

This battle wouldn't be over quickly… which was what Kakashi hated most.

* * *

Haziness, that was the only word that came to Sakura's mind to describe her current situation. Everything in her mind was hazy. When she opened her eyes her vision blurred and that didn't help her one bit. When she lifted her arm, it shook and she couldn't keep it up for long, her energy dwindling with her every movement. With her every breath…

Where was Sai? She hadn't expected him to leave her. She was ill wasn't she? And wasn't he on her side? Shouldn't he have stayed to help her, to heal her. And if not that, should he have taken her back to Konoha to have her healed there?

Some ninja he was…

But for some reason Sakura hadn't expected anything less of him.

She realised something in that moment, she was so cold. She hadn't realised it before because of all the distractions, the shouting, the banging and the rest. She hadn't noticed that she was shaking, she hadn't noticed how pale her skin was, and she certainly hadn't noticed how daft she was being paying more attention to herself than the shouting and banging that she heard outside the hut.

All that seemed to drown out too though, as her hearing became as hazy as her sight.

She lay there contemplating her situation. But the more she thought the less energy remained to keep her awake, and as an image of a face she hadn't wanted to picture flashed inside her mind, he mind went black once more, and her breathing became shallower.

* * *

"Leave." He said simply.

"Uchiha Itachi I presume." Sai commented confidently. He had never been intimidated by the likes of him and Sasuke. He had grown up around people that had been intimidated and scared of the remaining two Uchiha, and it had sickened him.

What was so special about them?

_Nothing_

They were two cowards strung up on pedestals with merely their reputations to strike fear in the people around them. They weren't gods so they weren't immortal.

This meant that they could _die_.

And if they could die, that meant that he could be the one to kill them. _Both_ of them.

"Hn." The sharingan swirled in his irises as he watched the younger nin. Itachi felt no threat, only sheer annoyance at the boy's blind confidence.

He was full of himself.

This amused Itachi to no end. He reminded him of his brother down to the T. He had never thought possible for a twin to form out of nowhere, of his brother no less.

"I suggest you give yourself up if you want to avoid bodily harm." Sai's gaze met Itachi's, neither backing down, neither showing any emotion, both confident in their ability.

Itachi smirked. He wasn't about to let some brat mouth off to him, however much he had gotten used to it. This was one of the traits that made this nin and the one lying unconscious beside him, so similar.

They both had traps that they just didn't know when to shut.

Quicker then the blink of an eye, Itachi had made his move. Sai caught completely off guard stiffened as a hand wrapped around his windpipe cutting off his air supply.

He couldn't believe it. How had he been so fast?! Not even Kakashi could compare to that speed, not even Jiraya could! He hadn't seen anything like it before. It wasn't human.

_He's not human…_

Those words haunted his thoughts. Tsunade had said them as she briefed his anbu squad about each member of the Akatsuki. She was right.

But Sai wouldn't go down without a fight. Grabbing the kunai that he had hidden in his sleeve he slashed at Itachi's neck. But before the kunai got within inches of the Uchiha senior, he had gone. Sai fell to the ground, his lungs desperately taking in oxygen to keep his body going.

Senses heightened Sai tried to predict Itachi's next move. His next attack.

But there came none.

Sai stood, his body in full fighting stance.

"Where the hell are you Uchiha?" Sai growled, he was keeping his anger under control; after all he wasn't the type to give into his emotions. He never had been…

But he hated bastards like the two so called Uchiha 'Prodigies'. He didn't understand what they had done to deserve that name, what they had done to gain the respect of so many and the fear of so many more.

That's when it hit him. Before he could process his thoughts any more his body had already began moving. Swinging the door of the cabin open, Sai slammed him fist into the door in frustration at his own stupidity.

She was gone.

He had been too slow, too dumb to realise the Uchiha's true intentions. He should have caught on after hearing her say his name in fright, after seeing him appear here. Once again he had been like the rest of the fools that feared the Uchiha brothers, he had thought that they were out to get each other; he had assumed that they were trying to kill each other.

When Uchiha Itachi had never showed any sign of wanting to do so.

He had failed.

* * *

Kakashi sighed to himself as he leaned against the tree he was hiding behind. He was tired; this battle was taking up too much time, too much energy. He had no chance if it came down to a 'who can last the longest' fight, the sannin beat him in chakra reserves, so if he wanted to win, which he obviously did, he had to end it soon.

He wasn't quite sure how though.

Dodging another array of poison that had escaped through the fangs of the snake summon that Orochimaru had brought into the game, Kakashi jumped into the branches of the tree throwing his own kunai which hit his target blinding it. The snake screeched in pain, but its attack did not falter as it continued on its path.

After all that's what the pale sannin saw this as. He didn't see this as a fight to the death, he saw it as a game, and saw Kakashi as one of the tiny pawns.

"Kakashi, running will only delay the inevitable." Orochimaru commented. He watched amused as the silver haired nin dodged another attack by his pet, before disappearing into the foliage thanks to one of his many jutsus.

Mako gasped when a hand appeared from the earth beneath Orochimaru's feet grabbing said limb and dragging him down into it's crust. Kakashi appeared moments later right next to the spot that Orochimaru had just disappeared into. He grabbed the katana on his back and waited as the snake summon sniffed him out. The blade glistened dangerously in the moonlight. Although Kakashi's scent was partially hidden by the heavy rain, the snake summon was soon heading in his direction.

Without a second thought Kakashi was running towards it, disappearing right in front of Mako's eyes to appear behind the snake. Kakashi gripped the sword tight as he pulled back the blade before slashing with all his strength right through the neck of the snake. The blade sliced without a sound, which made it look to Mako, almost effortless. She watched in awe. Kakashi landed on the ground gracefully as the body of the snake fell to the ground followed by the head in a bloodied heap. Kakashi threw the katana by the body of the snake and pulled out a kunai ready for Orochimaru.

Mako shut her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing; this wasn't how everything was supposed to turn out. Sakura was the one who should be dead. She was the one that deserved to be dead. Not them.

She never liked Orochimaru, but she understood that he was on her side, so she didn't want anything to happen to him. But Kakashi…

She liked him a lot. Mako knew that Kakashi had never been sure of her, that's what had drawn her feeling for him in the first place. She didn't love him the way she knew she loved Itachi-sama. She loved Kakashi in a completely different way.

Mako saw Kakashi as the father she never knew. She saw Kakashi as the epitome of fatherhood, the kind of man that any child would be lucky to call dad. He was what she wanted; he was what she had been waiting for for so long.

Yet everything was going wrong.

Orochimaru appeared behind Kakashi's form, a wide smirk on his face.

"NO!" Mako screamed as she and Kakashi realised too late what the snake sannin was up to.

The snake head that had once been Orochimaru's arm penetrated through Kakashi stomach. The young girl felt sick as she saw the snake head pierce right through the stomach of a man she saw as a father, blood rushed out all around the wound as she saw Kakashi's open eyes go dull.

Mako's eyes widened sharply in horror. This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to die.

Before she knew what she was doing she was running towards them.

Orochimaru pulled out his snake, his arm returning back to normal as the silver haired nin before him fell to his knees.

Kakashi hadn't been fast enough. He smiled to himself. _I guess age is finally starting to catch up to me_, Kakashi thought, amused.

"I'm going to enjoy this" Orochimaru smirked wider as he pulled a kunai out of his sleeve.

Kakashi closed his eyes; his sharingan would do him no good now. It was quit ironic that at the moment that he needed it most, it was the most useless thing in him. It was draining him of the little energy that he had left, which left him none to move, to _escape_.

Orochimaru raised his arm, kunai gleaming in the moonlight.

Kakashi's last energy left him and he no longer possessed the will to stay upright. He barely noticed the rain subside above him. His form relaxed as the pain in his stomach numbed and his body fell forward, his face in the dirt as his world went black for the final time.

"I SAID NO!" Mako screamed picking up the katana that Kakashi had dropped before Orochimaru's attack. She grabbed a vile that she had hidden in her yukata and broke it onto the blade, the liquid inside pouring down the metal and onto the ground below.

Orochimaru hadn't even turned to face the girl, he didn't feel threatened. He didn't feel threatened because he didn't see the look in her eyes, he didn't feel threatened because he hadn't seen what vile she had used.

He felt it though when it was too late, the blade sliced into his pale skin. It sliced through his flesh, through his ribs, through his lung and right through to the other side.

Orochimaru gasped for air as he realised what had happened, his eyes were ablaze with anger as the kunai he had readied for the nin in front of him, twisted in his hand and he spun around to face his assailant.

Mako screamed as fear took her over. She could move, she couldn't turn and run to save her life. She was a deer caught in headlights. She hadn't thought of the consequences of her actions before she had actually done them. And now she would pay the price.

Orochimaru's dug the kunai in deep before all strength left him and his body began to sway. The snake sannin couldn't believe how lowly this was, all these years, all the opponents he had faced and beaten and the one that finally gets him good would be a little girl?! It wasn't right; he couldn't believe that she had done it! Better yet, she had done it with the same poison that he had given her only moment before for a completely different purpose, for a completely different person.

Why had she turned on him? Why hadn't he suspected it? Why had he deemed her no threat?

He was dead before his corpse hit the ground.

Mako's eyes filled with tears at the pain that shot from her stomach right through to the rest of her body. She fell to her side as she curled up; this caused her double the amount of pain. Her tears slipped from her mahogany eyes and fell to the dirt she lay on.

She couldn't believe that this was how it would end. There was no way of anyone saving her now. She could feel the poison coursing slowly through her body. The poison that in the process of her breaking the vile had spilled all over her, so when the snake sannin had pierced her flesh with the kunai he had effectively infected her with it, with death.

Her eyes looked up at the silver haired nin that she could see was still breathing. Her eyes filled with more tears. Would he every find out what she had done for him? Would he ever remember her for what she had done? Would he ever know?

Mako lifted her hand into her yukata to pull out a small red rocket. It had been a present from Ino, in case she got lost and needed to be found. She smiled sadly before wincing as more pain rippled through her body.

More tears rolled down her cheeks as she rolled onto her back and thought of Ino. She had been so kind, if she had her wish, Ino would have been the mother that she too had never known. That made Mako smile, Ino and Kakashi…

She pulled the pin out of the small rocket as it escaped her hold and flew into the sky above her.

Maybe they wouldn't find Orochimaru or her alive, but Kakashi had a chance. If he was lucky, which she didn't doubt he was, people like him just naturally were, then he would be found, he would be healed and maybe… just maybe, he would be told what happened here, what she had done, what she had done for him.

The rocket erupted in a multitude of colours as she watched the sparkling lights which reflected in her dulling eyes. She hadn't wanted to die this way, but it was better than the way the woman she despised was living. Maybe she hadn't gotten the chance to tell Itachi-sama how she felt, maybe she hadn't had the chance to see if he felt the same way back. But at least she got to die for a person she loved.

At least she got to die with honour and with pride. She had taken down a legendary sannin. She smiled at that. The poison had finally spread around her system as her heart was slowly shutting down.

"…I'm…sorry…" Mako breathed into the cool night air, her last breath. "…Itachi…-sama…"

* * *

**Soooo... Yey or Ney?**

**Thank you so much to all reviewers! If it hadn't been for you guys constantly pushing me to continue writing, this wouldn't have been here...**

**So keep it up guys!!!**

**I'll try get the next one up a.s.a.p!**

**Cya!**


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